Shout! Art and Margo Rosenbaum

Organized by the Ceorgia Museum of Art

Shout! is a special exhibition for the Ceorgia Museum of Art. Unique in that it will not be shown at its organizing museum, this exhibicion is tailored for our sister institutions along the coasts of Ceorgia, South Carolina, and Florida. But it is more special still: it is a direct outgrowth of the museum studies program at the University of Ceorgia.

Under the guidance of the director of che Ceorgia Museum of Art and its director of publications and public relations, one graduate student,James Bursenos, has been responsible for curatorial duties for the exhibition as well as the educational materials that accompany it, while an undergraduate student, Natalie Dopson, has handled all the press materials. Mr. Bursenos has not only worked with the artists to secure the works, but he has also been involved in every aspect of this exhibition's development, preparation, and ultimately, its success. David Vinson, a graphic design intern, developed all design and layout for the checklist. The staff of the museum joins me in thanking these chree scudencs for their commitment

to our

program and for the realization of the exhibition. But, we would be remiss if we did not give thanks to Art and Margo Rosenbaum and to the Mclntosh Counry Shouters, the latter for inspiring the former to express in drawings and photographs the mystery and beauty of their art. Through Art and Margo Rosenbaum's works, we may join them in the passion and humanity of the Shout.

William U. Eiland Director, Ceorgia Museum

ofArt

SlCat!

l"the Mt.

CatvaryChurch in the Bolton community of Mclntosh County on the coast of Ceorgia, a tradition known as the Shout has persisted since slavery. A tight knit group of African Americans has held on to this venerable tradition as a form of entertainment,

art, and religion. ln this series of charcoal drawings and photographs, Art and Margo Rosenbaum document and celebrate the last practitioners of the Shouc I-)

IJerived

from

older, similar West African traditions, the Shout is a blend of call and response singing, percussive rhythm, and dance-like movement, the basic forms of which were brought by slaves from West Africaby way of the Caribbean, to the coastal region and Sea lslands of South Carolina and Ceorgia. lt has been documented there by outsiders since the mid-nineteenth century as a form of spiritual celebration that integrates African traditions with the Cullah dialect of the English language, Christianiry, and American folk music elements. The slave songs and the ecstatic movements they evoke are expressive descriptions of Bible stories or coded protests to slavery and were originally performed by slaves at harvest time, at funerals

or on holidart.

'

-F I he word "shout" does not

refer to the call and response vocals ofthe songs, as one might think, but rather to the movements and gestures done in a ring. The term is derived from the Arabic saut

(pronounced like the English shout), meaning to dance around the Kaaba. The word was also used by West African Mohammedans to refer to a "holy dance" around the pulpit, and thus transported by slaves to America and adapted into the dialect of the Cullah culture ro refer to any member of the group who is spiritually overwhelmed and moved to dance.

Aft.rougns

ho

uti n g so m eti mes rese m

b I es

dance, it is not considered dancing by its practitioners. Since dancing was thought of as something done for the devil and not allowed in church, a distinction was made becween dancing and Shouting. As long as rhe Shouter kept his or her feet close to the floor and did not cross them, it was not considered dancing; as one member of the group in Mclntosh County points out, "if you cross yo' feet, you were dancin', but ifyou solid, move on the square, you were Shoutin'." ]ff hough not a regular part of church service, the Shout usually took place in church after the prayer meeting. Today the Shout occurs in an annex with a wooden floor on Watch-Night, or New Year's, when the group stays upall night, "Shouting" the old year out and the new one in. The group consists of a seated lead singer, or "songster" who begins, or "sets" the song; a "sticker" seated next to him, who bangs out the rhythm on a wooden floor with a broom handle or any such stick; a chorus of singers clustered around them, called "basers," who answer the caller and keep time with the sricker by clapping their hands; and the "Shouters,"

who move around in a counter-clockwise ring, shuffling their feet and "rocking" their hips, often pantomiming the actions heard in rhe content of the song. ln "Move Daniel," a popular Shout song, a warning is given to Daniel, a slave who is stealing a piece of meat, that his owner is approaching. lt is a message, coded in song, telling Daniel to "go the other way" or "do the Eagle Wing," and elude his master. This pantomime is illustrated in Art Rosenbaum's drawing EagleWing shown on the cover. lt shows the circle of shouters with arms stretched out like wings pointed toward heaven, and beautifully expresses the spirituality and hopefulness of the flight to

freedom.

, f t is in chis form rhat the Shouc

has persisted, but because of industrializa-

tion, urbanization, and tourism, the tradition was almost forgotten during the middle part

of this century. With encouragement from folklorists, artists, and other folk singers and musicians, including the Rosenbaums, the Mclntosh Counry Shouters consent to perForm their unique celebration for public audiences at folk festivals, although it is essentially a private ritual. ln 1993 the group received the prestigious National Folk Heritage Award, given by the Library of Congress. f

f h"t" drawings and

photographs not only document the Shout, but also stand as interpretive reflections on the Shouters and their environment. Margo Newmark Rosenbaum's black and white photographs at times capture and candidly

Left: Margo Newmark Rosenbaum

"Pickin'Up Leaves" - Mclntosh County Shouters at Wolftrap Farm,1981 Black and white photograph

11 inchesxl4inches

Collection of the artist.

illustrate the movement and the pantomimes of the Shouters, and at others, offer a glimpse into the lives of these individuals that goes beyond the narrative. Some are taken outdoors at performances at different folk festivals, complete with microphones and traditional dress, while others are taken in the more intimate surroundings of the annex at Mt. Calvary on Watch Night. Art Rosenbaum's drawings are energetic interpretations of the Shout that are taken from studies from life, his videos, orfrom Margo's photographs. ln some, Art freely combines elements of both to show us the experience of being a participantobserver of this sub-culture's traditions.

Although highly expressive and imaginarive, the drawings still offer an objective srory of the Shouters, and capture what is genuinely individual altout the movements and gestures of the folk and their celebration.

T f he works are the result of a much larger effort on the part of the Rosenbaums to help preserve this

dying tradition. Art and Margo have been using folk culture of the South, mainly musicians, as favorite subjects for their art for the better part ofthe past two decades. Both are musicians themselves and have spent time in various folk communities as collecting folklorists and as participants in the musical traditions they hope to preserve in their art.

Their interest has produced-in addition to countless paintings, drawings and photographs-recordings of songs, and a number of books on folk music, art, and culture including Folk Visions and Voices: Traditional Music and Song in Norch Ceorgia (UCA Press, 1983). Currently they are working on another book, Shour Because You're Free, on the Mclntosh Counry Shouters, for which these drawings and photographs will be used as illustration. Some of the field and creative work for this exhibicion was supported by the Universiry of Ceorgia's Sea Crant Art Program and an lndividual Artist's Crant from the Ceorgia Council for the Arts.

Lefl: Art Rosenbaum Farewell, Last Day Coin',1991 Charcoal on paper

38 inches x 50 inches Collection of Rick Johnson.

Below. Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Lawrence McKiver with Tree Black and white photograph

11 inchesxl4inches

Collection of the artist.

J[o,r,on, such as the shout are representative of the rich and varied folk culture of our nation. They lie outside the mainstream of society and are vulnerable to the materialism and commercial exploitation of our age. As artists, musicians, and folklorists, the Rosenbaums recognize the historical interest and the present importance of folk culture.

The "old" ways of the folk need to remain an integral part of society so that we may better understand the present,just as DeaconJames Cook of Mclntosh County, born in 'l 881, said of this treasured ceremony: "We are still holding to that yesterday tradition that was brought by our fathers and mothers that brought it from our homeland in Africa. They knowed how to Shout, they loved to Shout...

Someday we'll be Shouting the harvest homel" James Bursenos

Curatorial lntern, Ceorgia Museum ofArt

(Bolton), 1987

Arc Rosenbaum

Art Rosenbaum

Do the Eagle Wing, 1991 Charcoal on paper

"Time Drawin' Nigh," 1 994 Charcoal on paper

38 inches x 50 inches Collection of the artist

38 inches x 50 inches

Art Rosenbaum

Art Rosenbaum Study for Eulonia, 1982

Farewell, Last Day

Coin',1991

Charcoal on paper

Collection of the artist

38 inches x 50 inches

Charcoal on paper 22 inches x 30 inches

Collection of RickJohnson

Collection of the artist

Art Rosenbaum

Art Rosenbaum

Warch Night, 1992 Charcoal on paper

Ceorgia Sea lsland Singers,1982 Charcoal on paper 22 inches x 30 inches

38 inches x 50 inches Collection of the artist Arc Rosenbaum

Children's Shout, 1992 Charcoal on paper

Ceorgia Sea Crant Art Collection

Art Rosenbaum Watch Nighr Sketchbook, 1-4, 1992 Charcoal on paper

38 inches x 50 inches

11 inchesxl4inches

Collection of the artist

Collection of the artist

Art Rosenbaum

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum

Pickin' Up Leaves,1992 Charcoal on paper

Reverend Palmer, .1993 Black and white photograph

38 inches x 50 inches

ll inchesxl4inches

Private Collection

Collection of the artist

Art Rosenbaum Reverend Palmer,1992 Charcoal on paper

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Sister at the Shout,1992 Black and white photograph

38 inches x 50 inches

11 inchesxl4inches

Collection of the artist

Collection of the artist

Art Rosenbaum Shout 1 994, 1994 Charcoal on paper

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Learning to Beat the Stick l,1992 Black and white photograph

38 inches x 50 inches Collection of the artist

Collection of the artist

11 inchesxl4inches

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Deacon Jim Cook at Wolfrrap Farm, 1981 Black and white photograph

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Learning to Beat the Stick 11,1992 Black and white photograph

11 inchesxl4inches

11 inchesxl4inches

Collection of the artist

Collection of the anist

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Lawrence McKiver with Tree (Bolton), 1987 Black and white photograph

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum McKiver on St. Simon's, 1983 Black and white photograph

11 inchesxl4inches

1

Collection of the artist

Collection of the artist

Margo Newmark Rosen bau m

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Watch Night, 1994 Black and white photograph

"Watch that Star"- Mclntosh County Sho ute rs

at Wo lftrap Farm, 1 981

1 inches x 14 inches

Black and white photograph

11 inchesxl4inches

'1

Collection of the artist

1 inches x 14 inches

Collection of the artist Margo Newmark Rosenbaum

"Pickin' Up Leaves"- Mclntosh County

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Bolton, New Year's Eve,1993 Black and white photograph

Shouters at Wolftrap Farm, 1981

1

Black and white photograph

Collection of the artist

1 inches x 14 inches

11 inchesxl4inches

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum Lawrence McKiver on His Porch,1993 Black and white photograph

Mclntosh County Shouters in 1992, 1992 Black and white photograph

Collection of the artist

Collection of the arrist

'l 1 inches

x 14 inches

11 inchesxl4inches

Collection of the artist Margo Newmark Rosenbaum

At the Shout,1992

Margo Newmark Rosenbaum The Mclntosh County Shouters (group shot),1992 Black and white photograph

Black and white photograph

11 inchesxl4inches

11 inchesxl4inches

Collection of the artist

Collection of the artist ADDITIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS MAY BE MADE TO TH E CH ECKLIST AT SUBSEQU ENT VENUES.

Sho.n!

Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Ceorgia Museum of Art is provided by the Ceorgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Ceorgia Ceneral

Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Georgia Museum of Art is

located on the historic north end of the Universiry of Ceorgia campus in Athens.

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EORGIA MUSEUM

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OF.ART

TTT,.

Cover Art Rosenbaum. Do the Eagle Wing, 1991 . Charcoal on paper.

38 inches x 50 inches. Collection

of

the Artist.

Checklist design and layout: David Vinson, Craphics lntern.