Later, Somerville related to me how his parents altered their southern lifestyle. He even told me his parents went through a “hippie phase” which I found quite humorous amidst a sea of white walls which made a perfect canvas in the Beta Pictoris Gallery located on its famous 2nd Ave North in the heart of Birmingham. Loaded images cut from real newspaper articles that date back as far as the early 1900’s comprised small colleges painted across the wall. On the left wall, there hung large brown cloth sacks with peculiar black faces on them. “Are those cotton sacks?” I questioned. Somerville went on to explain that I was one of the first individuals to actually know that they were old cotton sacks. Bringing light to the Slavery Narrative, faces on these cotton sacks represent African Americans depicting a nostalgic view of plantation life and extreme cruelty.
As we were suspended into a deep and very informational conversation about Somerville’s views, we wound up in another room of work and came face to face with four small wooden chairs scattered across the floor atop a nice vintage rug. On the seat of each stool, there were pencil sketches of little faces intricately crafted. “The name of this piece is called The Love that Forgives,” Beta Pictoris Gallery’s art director Guido Maus explained to me how he witnessed Travis sketch the faces of the four little girls over a short span of ten days. The Love that Forgives was created in ode to the four little girls who lost their lives due to a crime during the Civil Rights era. September 2013 marked the 50th year anniversary of the church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. “‘The Love that Forgives’ was the name of the sermon that was to be preached to the congregation that day”, Somerville explained. Not only did this particular piece steal my heart, it stole my soul. Goosebumps came with the chill that quickly possessed my every being as I smiled with glee and wrapped up my interview with Travis Somerville.
American Rhetoric is a beautiful reflection of old America and how the idea of racism has been significantly modernized into the current. Nevertheless, Somerville’s political view on racism elucidates equality in every aspect. Someone who was not afraid to address very relevant, sensitive issues as reflected through the hands of this very talented artist, nothing less than remarkable.
Underground Runway ©
Photographer: Salvatore Corso
Model: Jessamine-Boss Models