Provisions | The Glassbook Project

Nick Kline & Adrienne Wheeler with Endless Editions, Samantha Boardman and Rutgers University-Newark Book Arts Class

Provisions is an series of artist books inspired by recordings from the Krueger-Scott African-American Oral History Collection, consisting of over 200 audiocassette recordings of interviews with African-American residents of Newark, NJ who migrated to the city between 1910 and 1970 during the Great Migration. Seven of these interviews are subjects for the collaborative artworks collected here, which seek to keep the interviewees’ voices alive for a new generation through a contemporary context.

The title of the collection – Provisions – is inspired by descriptions of the boxes and bags used by individuals to carry food on their long journeys northward – a custom developed in response to “Jim Crow” laws that barred African-Americans from most public accommodations and restaurants.

The conceptual starting point for Provisions is the portrait series, Elizabeth (2015), by GlassBook Project Founder and Artist Nick Kline and Artist-in-Residence Adrienne Wheeler, whose mother migrated from the South during the Great Migration, and whose father was from a long-time Northern family. Similarly, each of the artist books on display—created by students of Kline’s Book Arts class at Rutgers University-Newark—is an abstract, conceptual portrait based on specific details drawn from the interviews. Other works include a limited-edition artist publication by Endless Editions and a sound montage by Samantha Boardman.

The exhibition attempts to reveal the unseen provisions that sustain people throughout their lives, such as their traditions, spirituality, community, and wisdom learned from others.

This project was produced in coordination with Rutgers University-Newark, The Newest Americans Project, and the Center for Migration and the Global City and Samantha Boardman. The Provisions Project has received support from The Office of the Chancellor, Rutgers University-Newark and The Dean’s Office, College of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University-Newark. The books were created at and with the support of GlassRoots, Newark, NJ.

“Onions” is composed of fused glass and copper wire and and different techniques such as sandblasting, baking, text and image transfer and traditional painting. It is about the life of Katheryn Bethea, migrant to Newark who had to continually re-invent herself to keep up with changing times. I described her story through the metaphor of an onion. In her interview she spoke of her family’s use of onions for remedies and folklore: “I used to have an aunt that would put onions and sprinkle them with sugar on the back of the stove and that was supposed to keep my uncle from running around with other women.” During World War II Bethea mastered the double nose needle craft and wanted to make it a career. She applied for a supervisor position in a hospital uniforms factory, at a time there when there were no black women in those positions. But she got the job and kept it until the factory closed about 15 years after the war. Her dedication and work ethic then led her to open her own dress shop.

Oral History: KATHERYN BETHEA Artist: Andrea Cassar Title: Onions, 2015, glass, copper wire, 6”x17”x 22”

Oral History: KATHERYN BETHEA Artist: Matthew Cole Title: Katheryn Buller Bethea’s Newark, 2015, glass, canvas, adhesive, 2”x 6.25”x 7.25”

Oral History: KATHERYN BETHEA Artist: Danielle Cooper Title: The Gold Brick, 2015, glass, brick, tape, marker, 7”x20”x33”

Oral History: ALVIN CONYERS Artist: Alexis Franklin, Rutgers Newark Title: Celebrants, 2015, glass, copper wire, pillow, fabric, American flag, 2.5”x13.25”x 13.5”

Oral History: ALVIN CONYERS Artist: Natalie Guerrero Title: Scripture, 2015, glass, copper wire, canvas, adhesive 2.5”x6”x 7.25”

Oral History: ALVIN CONYERS Artist: Daniel Jamroz Title: Exuberance, 2015, sandblasted glass, 3/4”x7”x 17”

Oral History: PAULINE MATHIS Artist: Jonas Larbi Title: Why, 2015, glass, duct tape, wood, 9.5”x 4”x 27”

Oral History: PAULINE MATHIS Artist: Beatrice Loiseau Title: Switchboard, 2015, glass, cord, copper wire, 5/8”x10”x 22”

Oral History: ZAUNDRIA MAPSON MAY Artist: Lamont Royster Title: Spirit Restored, 2015, glass, transparency film 14.25” x 20.5”

Oral History: ZAUNDRIA MAPSON MAY Artist: Ramon Salcedo Title: Colors, 2015, glass, copper wire, 1.5”x 6”x 12”

Oral History: HORTENSE WILLIAMS POWELL Artist: Anya Semenova Title: Memory Case, 2015, glass, steel hinge & hardware, adhesive , 4”x 7.5”x 12”

Oral History: HORTENSE WILLIAMS POWELL Artist: Sean Sena Title: Newspaper, 2015, glass, copper wire, newspaper, twine, 1”x12”x 13”

Oral History: HORTENSE WILLIAMS POWELL Artist: Mark Spelker Title: The Scholarship, 2015, fused glass, ribbon, sticker, 3/4”x6”x 9”

Oral History: ISAAC THOMAS Artist: Nick Kline Title: Nickel Piece Of Ice Melting, 2015, glass, ice pick, 3.5”x6.5”x 7.5”

Oral History: ISAAC THOMAS Artist: PaulA Neves Title: Accounts, 2015, glass, linen and packaging tape, 1”x 7”x 17”

Oral History: ELIZABETH MOORE WHEELER Artist: Adrienne Wheeler Title: My Mother

Nick Kline & Adrienne Wheeler, Our Children’s Wedding, 2015 sandblasted glass, duct tape, 8”x 10” x 50”

Provisions, Nick Kline & Adrienne Wheeler with Endless Editions and Rutgers Univerisity-Newark Book Arts Students, from GlassBook Project #10. 2015, (18) Risograph artists publications, 3”x6.25”x8.5”, edition 150 + 5AP