A Cast of Blues
The West Baton Rouge Museum opened A Cast of Blues on August 31, 2019. The exhibition is on loan from ExhibitsUSA and Mid-America Arts Alliance runs through October 20, 2019.
A Cast of Blues features 15 resin cast masks of blues legends created by artist Sharon McConnell-Dickerson as well as 15 color photographs of performers and of juke joints by acclaimed photographer Ken Murphy. The exhibition is fully accessible to all visitors, featuring a braille component, video elements, educational materials that include instruments children can play and a music playlist. Visitors are encouraged to touch the resin cast masks.
“A life cast is like a 3D photograph to someone who is blind,” says McConnell-Dickerson, who is visually impaired herself. McConnell created the masks of famous blues musicians over a period of eight years. A Cast of Blues is curated by Chuck Haddix, music historian, author, radio personality, and Director of the Marr Sound Archives at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
This exhibit is an extension of WBR Museum’s celebration of juke joints and the music that evolved on the west side of the Mississippi River.