CAST YOUR MIND, if you can bear it, back to the disorienting first year of the pandemic. Late in the summer of 2020, a crackling moment of possibility broke through the leaden mood, albeit briefly, when all of a sudden it seemed as though one extraordinary woman might be poised to save not only the United States Postal Service but the practice of voting and democracy itself. Ruth Asawa’s commemorative stamps launched in San Francisco on August 13. In place of in-person events, a handful of online festivities and formalities heralded their arrival. Often described as an artist’s artist, Asawa
Robert Rauschenberg, ‘Bubba’s Sister from the Ruminations.’
From 1933-1957, Black Mountain College was formed and thrived within the context of its seemingly unconventional methods and ways, only to simply disappear into the history books of the town it was named after, into the fond memories of those who passed through the magical space along their respective paths in life.
“There’s been a bit of a Renaissance in the last 15-20 years in the interest in the history of Black Mountain College,” said Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator at the Asheville Art Museum.
Leaps and bounds ahead of its time, even by many of today’s academic standards, the experimental liberal arts institution was a haven for cutting edge artists and the curious alike from around the country complete creative and spiritual freedom to be “you” and “me,” right in the heart of Western North Carolina.
“Connecting Legacies: A First Look at the Dreier Black Mountain College Archive” features archival objects from the Theodore Dreier Sr. Document Colle.