America’s oldest African-inspired art is the subject of this exciting new film, Grass Roots: The Enduring Art of the Lowcountry Basket.
"Grass Roots" is a visual feast that captures the skill, artistry,
and history embodied in the tradition of coiled grass basketry. We
follow basket makers from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, as they harvest
materials, create their baskets, and talk about the meaning of their work. From field to market, this half-hour documentary explores the current
state of the art
and its prospects for the future.
Also included: African Rice & Baskets takes us to Sierra Leone & Senegal, rice growing regions where villagers today make colorful coiled baskets. A Different Day provides an eyewitness account of basket making at Penn School on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, in the early 20th century.Illustrated with period photographs by Leigh Richmond Miner.
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The African-inspired art of basket making takes on
new forms in the Lowcountry. Collection of Timothy and Pearl V.
Ascue |
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Lowcountry basket makers use a filed-down spoon
handle, called a “nailbone,” Photo: Karin Willis |
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Detail of Leola Wright’s “cowboy hat” basket, made of sweetgrass and pine needles, sewn with palmetto leaf -- a spectacular example of the evolution of a traditional art. Collection of the McKissick
Museum |
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Joseph Foreman, Jr. displays his baskets at the Charleston Market. Photo: Dana Sardet |
To order: Produced in 2008 by Center for the Documentary at the
College of Charleston, in association with the Avery Research Center director / videographer / editor:
Dana Sardet We are grateful for generous funding
provided by: Sincere thanks to Thomasena Stokes-Marshall and the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival Association, and to the Avery Institute for Afro-American History and Culture for their help and encouragement. |