美国国家公共电台 NPR--New Louisville museum exhibition highlights Helen LaFrance's 'memory paintings'

New Louisville museum exhibition highlights Helen LaFrance's 'memory paintings'

Transcript¹

Helen LaFrance was best known for her "memory paintings" depicting² Black life in rural Kentucky. Now there are hopes her work will receive wider recognition with a retrospective in Louisville.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Helen LaFrance painted her memories. She painted Black rural life in western Kentucky, which means that her memory paintings, as they're called, capture some of the diversity of American rural life. Stephanie Wolf of our member station WFPL reports.

STEPHANIE WOLF, BYLINE³: Over and over again, Helen LaFrance brought scenes from her past to life with colorful, bold brushstrokes, scenes like this one painting of a picnic at a Black church in a small Kentucky town. Congregants are dressed in their finest. A field of bright, yellow wheat lines the horizon. Young children holding hands form a circle. She uses the kind of skewed perspective that makes her work expressive⁴, lively.

BRUCE SHELTON: This woman is an American treasure.

WOLF: That's gallerist Bruce Shelton, who worked with LaFrance for decades. He puts LaFrance on par⁵ with the likes of Grandma Moses, another self-taught folk artist who found acclaim⁶ for documenting rural living in vibrant⁷ paintings. LaFrance died in late 2020 at 101. During her lifetime, her work was celebrated⁸ locally and regionally. Museums in Kentucky and St. Louis have her paintings in their permanent collections. But Shelton and others hope a show spanning her career at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville will introduce her to a larger audience.

SHELTON: It takes something like this going on at the Speed, somebody to see this artist in her entirety. And curators will see it. Collectors will see it. A young child's life may be changed by going in there and seeing this exhibit.

WOLF: LaFrance told PBS member station KET in 1997 that painting was a way of reliving her childhood.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HELEN LAFRANCE: Oh, I just get to thinking about something. And I said, well, I remember how that was. I believe I'll put it on paper or canvas or whatever.

WOLF: LaFrance was born in 1919 in southwestern Kentucky. Her father farmed. She and her sisters helped in the fields. LaFrance's mother encouraged her toward art, teaching her how to draw and mix colors. She stayed close to home most of her life, working different jobs - a hospital cook or making bottles at a ceramic⁹ factory. In the 1980s, she devoted¹⁰ more time to painting and began to sell her work.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LAFRANCE: I never did quit trying to paint and trying to draw. I always thought someday I'll have time to do something worthwhile.

WOLF: There's a hint of darkness in LaFrance's work. She was a child when the Great Depression hit and grew up as a Black woman in Kentucky with Jim Crow laws.

WANDA STUBBLEFIELD: Miss Helen had a strong belief about that evil part of life, which - I don't think she would ever painted something that was so evil.

WOLF: That's close friend Wanda Stubblefield. She helped care for LaFrance in her later years and says LaFrance didn't talk much about her art or her process.

STUBBLEFIELD: I think it's just things that she saw that struck her interest that she wanted to paint.

WOLF: One of LaFrance's earliest public works is a mural of Jesus praying at the St. James AME Church in Mayfield, Ky., the town where LaFrance lived until her death. Last December, tornadoes¹¹ devastated¹² western Kentucky communities, including downtown Mayfield. The few parts of the St. James AME Church still upright include the front doors and LaFrance's mural.

(SOUNDBITE OF TARP BEING REMOVED)

WOLF: Today, a worker removes a tarp that has been protecting the mural from the elements and ongoing¹³ construction. Kristy Lawson is a church member. Her mother was raised by LaFrance as if she were her own child. Lawson believes the mural remaining intact was an act of God.

KRISTY LAWSON: He knew Granny's heart. He knew what she wanted to do, what she meant to everybody.

WOLF: Lawson says LaFrance was kind, giving, a woman of faith.

LAWSON: She'll get up 5 or 6 in the morning, start her day with her Bible, or go around see - look how her gardens are doing, the pond. She was just very nature. That's something God created, so why not enjoy it?

WOLF: LaFrance was beloved in this community. That's the message from church steward¹⁴ Thomas Bright. He says that's why it's important to restore and preserve this mural. He finds it inspiring to see LaFrance getting more recognition, including by the Speed Art Museum.

THOMAS BRIGHT: A lot of our history is lost, and we have a lot of local heroes that go unsung. And that's why she should be remembered for that and recognized.

WOLF: The mural, the museum retrospective - family and friends think Helen LaFrance would be surprised by all of this attention. She never considered herself something grand, one person tells me. LaFrance painted into her 90s but never considered herself a professional artist. It was just something she loved to do.

For NPR News, I'm Stephanie Wolf, in Mayfield, Ky.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

5 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

6 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

7 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。