Southern faces

Southern Living, Nov 1996 by Rada, Joe

OPENING DOORS

Dr. Roslyn Walker knows about doors. Growing up in Memphis and Baton Rouge during segregated times, she was allowed into museums only on infrequent field trips. "When I did get to visit," she recalls, "I'd marvel at the art for a while and then I'd start wondering what went on behind the doors marked `employees only."'

Diligently pursuing education and a string of museum jobs, she found out. Today Roslyn researches, writes, organizes exhibitions, and lectures as senior curator at the National Museum of African Art, which celebrates Africa's diverse cultures, both ancient and modern.

Her current studies also involve a door-a hefty one from a Nigerian palace. Carved in high relief, it sprouts dozens of faces, figures, and horses. "It's made of iroko, a very hard wood," Roslyn says. "They say the carver, a strong Yoruba man who kept his knives sharp, could cut through the iroko as if it were as soft as a calabash [a gourd]." Considering her own characteristic persistence, she could be describing a kindred spirit.

FANNING FEATHERS

Shimmering blue, green, and gold feathers grace a vase in Dr. Linda Merrill's office at the Freer Gallery of Art. The art historianraised in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and Columbia, Missouri-plucks a few on her way to give talks in the Peacock Room, the Freer's most famous display.

Iridescent images of the showy birds fill the leather-walled and dark-paneled dining room created 1876 to 1877 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Linda uses the feathers to illustrate the artist's inspiration and as pointers while discussing design elements. Visitors might be familiar with Whistler's painting of his mother, but Linda shares lesser-known tidbits of interest to Southern guests.

"Whistler's mother was a Southern belle from Wilmington, North Carolina," she says. "His brother, William, was a surgeon for the Confederacy and risked running a blockade to carry a message to England. Whistler himself left the United States at age 21 and never returned, painting in England and France. But sometimes he would impress his friends by posing as a Southern gentleman, serving mint juleps and turning on his accent."

SPREADING THE NEWS

Katie Ziglar gets the word out. As public affairs officer for the National Museum of American Art, she publicizes exhibits and events surrounding a 37,500-work collection.

The effervescent Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native hosts film crews and art critics, develops funding proposals, and writes press releases and brochures, "trying to spark reporters' imaginations," as she puts it. Degrees in European history and Islamic art help.

There are two broad messages about the Smithsonian that Katie constantly projects. "First, it's not a monolithic entity," she says. "It's more like a constellation of museums, each with a separate focus. The Smithsonian has great name recognition and a reputation for accuracy, but people perceive it as one old building. Second, it's not just a bunch of dusty old stuff. We get called `the nation's attic' way too often when in fact we research new data, produce festivals, help create new art, and much more."