 In April 2002, I visited the state of Alabama for the first time and discovered a land of enchantment - diverse in its landscapes and welcoming in the hospitality of its people.
Alabama deserves much more than the so often heard condemnation of "racist state". Granted, its history of the 19th century bears the stain of outrageous racism, of black slavery in the cotton fields and the extermination of native Indians. Fortunately, the dreaded Ku Klux Klan has all but disappeared.
The beauty of the Old South lives on in our memories, in the settings of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" and Civil War stories fill the history books. In their cities and towns, Alabamans have preserved the old wooden, antebellum homes, evoking a magical charm and nos talgia - a rare authenticity.
In December, 1955, Montgomery, the capital, was the scene of black rioting ignited by a humble black woman, Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. For this she was imprisoned for several hours. A year-long Montgomery bus boycott was the reponse to the overt racism? and in her honor, the Rosa Parks Museum was built in Montgomery. It is the most moving museum I have ever seen in my long artistic career. The boycott was followed, on August 28, 1963, by the now-famous Civil Rights March on Washington D.C. : 200,000 people participated, including Martin Luther King, a minister from Montgomery. It was on this occasion that Rev. King delivered his famous speech "I have a Dream".
On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, during a non-violent demonstration. On October 14, 1964, Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize and on March 28, 1968, he was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee.
I can understand that Nall, who was born in Troy, is still moved by these events which took place in his home state... he is still suffering from them.
It is clear that his work is haunted by the history of Alabama.
To his credit and honor, he devotes a good part of his life to other artists, especially through his Foundation.
With great passion and faith, Nall has created something unique in the world : a cultural bridge between France and South.
|
|  Many people from political, industrial and university communities have joined to sustain this exceptionnal artist ic effort. Since my visit to Alabama, I have both verbal and visual evidence of the first rate people at his side : The First Lady Lori Siegelman, Kent M. Hendricks (industry), Georgine Clarke (State Council of the Arts), Jack Hawkins (Chancellor of Troy State University), David Cromwell Johnson (Patron of the Arts), "Brother" Corley Chapman (Banking), Elmore Enscoe (Business), Wallace Malone (Banking) and so many others? I saw an Alabama open to Liberty, Equality and Fraternity !
Frédéric Altmann
Troy, Alabama, avril 2002
|
|
|
