James Hampton SE CoR0E0 oF MAE
.4/4 S
Kt
e0e4MRNOMetit _ ff nnir nor
TEN NiVe-
. achef ,;/f00 3itriet,n
40 ThE F
A
Y /1
liNftEar?
f? ChERUE
4001
(hTti5T h4
.e.4-pes nnq?
01, 1LY SoN,Otot
LDRO,Who WAs;CifivcE;vEt
tf ring
de&
FIRST 3ELIEVE
re4VE oF"411-E. 000
HoLY.ak ocr Eliami, rouN7I-ARY
E , N
--fr OF!.'
tt 9Y: nn Pe .,pf ooeS'
r2esE
rPoref,d r 3 GUI Foo
Ah7.nnS..0_4 p“o
I fl . lir,
41.14.-
•
000 S.o
000tnn
4.4
• g • goilt6c1'0.0
ST. JAMES BOOK OF THE 7 DISPENSATIONS (front and back covers) James Hampton
ords are sacred, an utterly reliable guide to reality. The visual sense is not highly cultivated because it is not regarded as a potential link between the divine and the creation. Southern religion rarely generates art, whether paintings or sculptures." Samuel S. Hill, eminent historian of religion in the American South, has made this observation, admittedly with a traditional ecclesiastical setting or purpose for art as his frame of reference. This observation would surprise many Southern folk and selftaught artists who have credited the inspiration, form, and content of their work to their religion. One need only think, for example, of Tennessean William Edmondson's assertion that "Jesus has planted the seed of carving in me," or Georgian Howard Finster's declaration that a divine voice told him, "Paint sacred art."'
W
(1909-1964) Washington, D.C. c. 1950-1964 Ink and foil on paperboard and paper 7 x 5 x 1"(closed) National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, lent anonymously.
Begets Another L'YNDA ROSCOE HARTIGAN
Let us consider specifically the ways in which Southern-born African Americans Elijah Pierce (18921984) and James Hampton (19091964) shifted the Bible's creative inspiration from the written and spoken word to the visual realm, begetting in the process their own versions of the Good Book. Those familiar with each man's work will readily call to mind Pierce's small carved and painted narrative panels, such as his masterful Crucifixion (mid-1930s), and Hampton's monumental ensemble, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millenium General Assembly [sic] (c. 1950-1964). Each man also produced an inspirational book—Pierce, his Book of Wood (c. 1932), and Hampton, his St. James Book of the 7 Dispensations (c. 1950-1964). Taken together, their books and their larger bodies of work establish the degree to which Pierce and Hampton drew upon the expressive, evangelical nature of their Southern African-American heritage. Even today, the South, more than any other region in the United States, is dominated by evangelical Protestantism. Historically, the evangelical approach to Christianity emphasizes the authority of Scripture, direct access to God, salvation through personal conversion, and the importance of preaching rather than ritual. Whether this form of Christianity is practiced by Americans of European or African ancestry in organized Baptist churches or in informal Pentecostal storefronts, the Southern paradigm of Christian faith advocates a direct and personal relationship to God. African Americans have forged a distinctive relationship with Christianity since their conversion during the time of slavery and its aftermath. Unlike Southern whites, Southern blacks have historically emphasized Christianity's prophetic dimension, believing that when God calls you, he calls you to freedom, a prerequisite for self-esteem, strength, and salvation. Rather than appealing to an authoritative God for forgiveness, black Christians seek recognition from Jesus, celebrating his love and deliverance. Celebration and conversion merge in black
SUMMER 1994 FOLK ART 53