|
State of the Blues: The Living Legend
of the Delta pays homage to the living
legends of the Mississippi Delta blues
through a series of intimate portraits.
Through the luminous photography
of Jeff Dunas, State of the Blues is an
important exhibition honoring the
men and women who have made
this art form so powerful. The inspirational
tradition of the Delta
blues-an African-American musical
legacy that has influenced almost all
forms of contemporary music-has
been preserved in our time by such
luminaries as B.B. King, John Lee
Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, and
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.
With universal resonance, the
blues makes poetry of sorrow and finds
humor and bitter irony in the hardships
of life. It tells of loves lost and
regained, of the endless struggle to put
food on the table, and of the fight for
dignity in a world that judges people by
the color of their skin. Alongside these
portraits, Dunas has documented the
landmark juke joints and byways of the Blues highway, a heritage trail
that runs from New Orleans through
the Mississippi Delta to Chicago.
State of the Blues is the most
comprehensive portrait of this enormously
influential art form. A hardcover
book and paperback catalog
by the same title (1998) published by
Aperture Foundation, includes photographs
by Jeff Dunas, interviews with
leading blues performers, a preface by
John Lee Hooker, and an introduction
by William Ferris.
View PDF
| |
Jeff Dunas. KEVIN "KEBMO" MOORE, 1996. Gelatin silver print. |
