Requiem for Charleston

Lava Thomas, Requiem for Charleston, 2016, tambourines, pyrographic calligraphy on lambskin, acrylic discs and braided trim, overall: 76 × 77 × 2 38 in. (193.0 × 195.6 × 6.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Nion McEvoy, 2017.4A-Y, © 2016, Lava Thomas

Artwork Details

Title
Requiem for Charleston
Artist
Date
2016
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
overall: 76 × 77 × 2 38 in. (193.0 × 195.6 × 6.0 cm)
Copyright
© 2016, Lava Thomas
Credit Line
Gift of Nion McEvoy
Mediums Description
tambourines, pyrographic calligraphy on lambskin, acrylic discs and braided trim
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2017.4A-Y

Artwork Description

Requiem for Charleston honors the nine men and women who died in a shooting on June 17, 2015, inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Tambourines with black lambskin heads are inscribed with the victims' names, while the drums of others are made of polished black acrylic that reflect the faces of viewers, suggesting the collective tragedy of the attack. Artist Lava Thomas chose to memorialize the dead with tambourines because of their cultural and historical significance, particularly their role in African American musical traditions-- including protest songs of the civil rights era. In the days following the Charleston massacre, tambourines, cymbals, and bells rang throughout the community as a call for unity and support. Here the instruments hang motionless, in silent tribute to the lives lost.

Works by this artist (17 items)

Bill Traylor, Untitled (Brown Pig), April 1940, opaque watercolor and pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.70, © 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust
Untitled (Brown Pig)
DateApril 1940
opaque watercolor and pencil on paperboard
Not on view
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Radio), ca. 1940-1942, opaque watercolor and pencil on printed advertising paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2016.14.4, © 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust
Untitled (Radio)
Dateca. 1940-1942
opaque watercolor and pencil on printed advertising paperboard
Not on view
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Woman with Umbrella and Man on Crutch), 1939, pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1991.96.7, © 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust
Untitled (Woman with Umbrella and Man on Crutch)
Date1939
pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard
Not on view
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Pig with Corkscrew Tail), ca. 1940, pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak, 1983.11, © 1994, Bill Traylor Family Trust
Untitled (Pig with Corkscrew Tail)
Dateca. 1940
pencil and opaque watercolor on paperboard
Not on view

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      Lava Thomas discusses her work Requiem for Charleston, which honors the nine men and women who died in a shooting on June 17, 2015, inside the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The artist explains her use of materials, including tambourines, black lambskin, black acrylic disks, and pyrographic calligraphy.

      Related Posts

      A photograph of a figure looking at Requiem for Charleston at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
      Seeing Things05/11/2018
      The other day, my colleague, Libby, and I walked through the museum in search of an artwork we could talk about. And though each artwork has a story to tell, Lava Thomas's "Requiem for Charleston," the artist's response to the church massacre at Mother Emanuel in 2015, spoke the most to us, in a quietly powerful way (if such a thing is possible).

      More Artworks from the Collection

      Claire Falkenstein, City is Man, 1941-1952, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.14, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
      City is Man
      Date1941-1952
      linocut
      Not on view
      Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
      Untitled
      Date1976
      embossed paper
      Not on view
      Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
      Mandala
      Date1977
      lithograph
      Not on view
      Nathan Oliveira, Site with Blue and White, 1978, monotype, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.14
      Site with Blue and White
      Date1978
      monotype
      Not on view