Steven Kaffa Photo
As I’ve been reflecting this week on Dr. King and the ongoing struggle for Black folks’ rights, I had the chance to chat with legendary artist Lonnie Holley, known for his improvisational musical performances and artwork made of found objects, in advance of his time in New Haven and performance at Yale’s Schwarzman Center on Jan. 18.
Born in Jim Crow-era Birmingham, Alabama, Holley was drawn to art to connect with the world around him. From a young age, he devoted his life to creating art that told tales of his life: pain, struggle, and hardship. But perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity, it has manifested itself in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and sound. He shared how he believes creating art helps people expand their minds.
“Everything that I’ve done over my life … if you look back at the story of my life, it has always been about our water, our air, our humanity and how we are responsible for this mothership that we live on,” Holley said.
Holley shared the story of his early life – the seventh of 27 children, he was taken away from his biological mother at 1.5‑years-old and raised by a traveling burlesque dancer, until age four. Eventually, he was committed to the notorious Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, which Holley called an “incarcerated camp.” It was exposed decades later as a slave camp for Black children, where the children worked all day, picking cotton.
Holley shared his story on the podcast “Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children,” hosted by journalist Josie Duffy Rice.
With five albums to his name, Holley has collaborated with artists such as Bon Iver, Michael Stipe of REM, Moor Mother, Sharon Van Etten, and Rokia Koné. Aside from his critically acclaimed music, Holley creates drawings, paintings, sculptures, photography, performances, music, and films. Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture.
His artwork is in collections of major museums throughout the world (The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and many others) and is on permanent display in the United Nations, and been displayed in the White House Rose Garden.
His music and lyrics are improvised on the spot and evolve with every event, concert, and recording, making every performance a unique experience.
Holley uses the concept of “found materials” in his art to help spread messages about the Black community facing oppression. He also taps into worldwide experiences and stories of pain and struggle.
“Our planet is very much in trouble, and we have to do our very best to try and get it out of the quicksand,” Holley said. “I’m singing on behalf of Mother Earth and every one of her humans.”
Holley’s New Haven performance is with Mourning [A] BLKstar, a band that is considered an amalgamation of Black culture. Their music melds live instrumentation with hip-hop production creating music that illuminates the African Diaspora.
Mr. Lonnie Holley was a guest on LoveBabz LoveTalk, 103.5 WNHH Radio on Jan. 16. Watch a recording of the episode here.
Babz Rawls Ivy is editor of The Inner-City News and host of LoveBabz LoveTalk 103.5 WNHH Radio.
Last night was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the great Lonnie Holley. In a 'sold-out' packed sanctuary Lonnie and his accompanying band improvised never-before-heard songs to never be played again. The ability for them all to synch their talent, vocal prowess, and instrumentation under his improvised lead is astounding. From blues, to jazz, to up-tempo, to afro beats, this band killed it every time. Lonnie is a joy to watch. He deserves every accolade. Imagine growing up in segregated, racist (still) Alabama to become recognized worldwide as an acclaimed visual and musical artist.
Yale continues to prove that with all of the mud thrown on its name, it still continues to bring incredibly relevant talent and cultural experiences to New Haven that is free and open to the public.