It was nice to go back down South to Mississippi. These blues of the Mississippi River Delta show a new
twist on the Negro soul. Reading
Blues people I was reminded
of the formalities that come with being removed from the motherland. Even
though so far gone, she is still with the Negro and defines and informs us in almost
every way of life the American Negro has.
I interpret Blues as the aftermath of the permanent separation of Blacks from
Africa. Its like a dream that occurs when you are living in a struggle, go to sleep and dream about
your troubles and wake up and realize they are still there. Through the Delta
Blues you can hear the musicians coping. The deep emotion and dark sentiment
that lies within these songs is not coming from technical performance, training, or anywhere else...it's coming from somewhere. Somewhere that is the someplace where
Negros hold emotions of sorrow and consciousness of their positions in foreign
White America. Even though the topics of the Delta Blues may be
personal it is all directed by where the artist is coming from.
Despite these Blues coming from a dark place they are
beautiful because they are real and the reality even a white man can not
deny. At the common denominator of us all is human and with that comes emotion- reason being why the blues is intrinsic.
My work this week was meant to show the darkness of the Delta
Blues bound up in the intersections of a dark reality informed by a brighter
and richer past that was never tangible but somehow seemingly and
comfortably exist in this labyrinth.
Um, hm-hm
Um-hm
Um, hm-hm
Um,
hm-hm-hm
You know that people
They are
driftin' from do' to do'
But they
can't find no heaven
I don't
care where they go
-Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues -Skip
James
No comments:
Post a Comment