Blog Post #3: A Shameless Plug for the Upcoming Exhibit!

Blog Post #3: A Shameless Plug for the Upcoming Exhibit!

            For this blog post, I’ll be doing something a little different. Instead of talking about my first week in collections, I am going to tell everyone about the fall exhibit, “The Ark of India.” Think of this as the special report/VIP sneak peak/extra-special-behind-the-scenes-look-that-only-my-readers-get-to-enjoy. By all means, I should be charging you for this, but because I am such a nice guy (And because I’m positive that it goes against policies of Troy University and the HMOM) I am going to let you all read this for free!

             The Ark of India Exhibit is an upcoming exhibit for the museum that opens in the fall. It is looking at the art of Roderick Mackenzie, a London born artist who grew up here in Mobile. He and his wife spent 12 years in India around the turn of the 20th century, during India’s colonial period known as the British Raj. He spent a couple years producing art in the courts of the maharajahs, and then set up a studio with people of India as his subjects for the rest of his time there. His most well-known piece during his time in India is a huge mural of the Durbar of 1903 (coronation celebration) for King Edward VII. Jacob has made a replica of it in the exhibit. (The thing is 18 x 11 ft!) It's called "The State Entry." Eventually, as Mackenzie renown grew, he and his wife left India for Europe where he was welcomed by the art community. He continued to produce Indian art through the many photographs he had taken during his time there. He stayed in Europe until 1912. Between his lack of financial stability and the rumblings of war, he thought it best if he and his wife were to return to their home in America. When he came back, he began in New York and worked his way down to Alabama, giving lectures of the society and art of India. He ultimately made his way back to Mobile after spending some time on his brother’s farm in Thomasville, Alabama. Once in Mobile, he became an artistic mainstay of the state. From his series on the steel furnaces in Birmingham to the paintings he did of the azaleas at Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, Mackenzie painted a portrait of the whole state through his art. His work can even be found in the Alabama State Capitol, where Mackenzie painted the murals in the Capitol Dome.

            This is a beautiful exhibit and I urge everyone to come see it. I would say more about it, but I think all the curators might come after me for undermining the work they’ve all done by telling you all too much. I suppose to find out more, everyone is just going to have to visit when the exhibit opens on October 16, 2014 when “The Art of India: An Alabama Artist Explores South Asia” opens here at the History Museum of Mobile.

So with more to come,

Seth Kinard

P.S. I will return next week with tales of my adventures in Collections. (Spoiler: I got to hold a sword.)