Ashley Bryan

Lendy is on a little trip in Maine, so I asked her to send me art. She sent me some text messages from the museum:

Ashley Bryan. He is heroic. (…) It’s not just the wretched tale of slavery. It is his curiosity and headlong approach to art. He made books, puppets, prints, paintings, collages. HE IS STILL ALIVE. He’s 95.

I looked him up. It appears this wonderful man is very well loved. I found an article in The Take Magazine about Bryan’s children’s book Freedom Over Me, on slavery. A children’s book on slavery. We’ve had several classes on art and activism at the League. Suzanne Walker made the point that it’s complicated to do both art and activism well. This is a socially powerful book, it’s written for children, and it’s artistically beautiful. In The Take Magazine, Bryan talks about this book:

“‘There was an auction about 10 years ago in Northeast Harbor of Civil War paraphernalia and slave-related documents,” he says, “and I bought a document for the purchase of some slaves. They just give you the name and the price.” He pulls the book from the pile on the table and opens it, revealing a detail of the document on the inside cover. “I did a portrait of each,” he says, “and I cut it out and pasted it on the documents. Then I imagined I asked them to tell me their story. After they did, I said to them, ‘If you were not a slave, what would your dream be?’”

I’m sorry to say that further reading reports it’s difficult to find copies of this beautiful book in Maine, because it’s assumed to be written specifically for black children, not all children. Did you hear that thump? That’s the sound of my forehead, hitting the table.

Below: Linocuts, studio space, and puppets made by the marvelous Ashley Bryan. Photo credits: Mount Desert Islander, Maine Boats Homes [gallery ids=”11637,11638,11642,11634,11636,11635,11645″ onclick=”link_no