Artists & Communities Host Site: Heritage Hall Museum
P.O. Box 1118
Talladega, AL 35161
Web site: http://www.talladega.com/heritage/heritage.htm

Millennium Artist:
Curtis Reaves
Videographer and Storyteller
Pennsylvania
E-mail: vid3@aol.com
Web site: www.johnandsarah.org

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Traditional history is often said to reflect the views of the winners, the conquerors, and those who have prevailed over others to realize economic and social dominance. But there is a large and growing movement to capture the other side of the story - to rediscover the people and experiences that have all but disappeared from our official memory.

Videographer Curtis Reaves is noted for work that embraces this 'bottom up' approach to presenting the stories ordinarily lost and occasionally at odds with conventional historical narrative. His first major production, the John and Sarah Project, begun in 1992 and now touring nationally, documents the story of Reaves' own great-grandparents as they moved from slavery to homesteading in the post-Civil War period.

Reaves describes his work, commenting, "I am a video artist, gatherer of personal stories, and storyteller who uses my skills to personalize history. Through my art, I try to create a deeper understanding of humanity's shared experiences. I do this by documenting the common person's life to tell personal, individual stories that resonate in a very real way for all of us, whatever our ethnic or cultural backgrounds…."

Relocating from urban Pittsburgh to take up his Artists & Communities residency with the Talladega Heritage Hall Museum in Alabama, Reaves came into a community that was a rich crossroads of American history. During his four month residency, he worked with local elders, young people, and other residents to research and document a fresh perspective of their heritage. Utilizing archival materials, local records, diaries, oral histories, and site visits, Reaves sought to trace events ranging from the Creek Indian War and Battle of Talladega of the early 1800's, up to the present day. Along the way, the project explored the founding of Talladega College by the American Missionary Association, the establishment and eventual decline of the region's plantocracy following the Civil War, and the town's reconstruction through World War I.

The contributions of local families were also noted, as well as those by individuals such as Louisa McElderry Jemison, who helped found Alabama's first public library in the building now housing Talladega's Heritage Hall Museum. Reaves took an unconventional approach on film to depicting his unconventional historical narrative. The resultant video, "The Talladega Story 1800 - 2000," combines dramatic recreations, music, and dance with visual montage and filter effects that lend the telling a graphic, contemporary edge.

While presenting a sometimes challenging view of the region's history, it will also enrich existing memories with voices telling previously unheard and unacknowledged stories of the past.

MILLENNIUM ARTIST BIO

Curtis Reaves is a video artist and storyteller who uses his skills to personalize history. Reaves works to create a deeper understanding of humanity's shared experiences by documenting the common person's life to tell personal, individual stories that resonate in a very real, accessible way, regardless of ethnic or cultural backgrounds. He uses photography, film, video, music, text, and theatrical installation to tell these stories.