Fine Arts Faculty Members Collaborate on Art Installation

For the last six months, UL Visual Art teacher Mary Stuart Hall and Band Director Daniel Solammon have been collaborating on an audio-visual art installation called Taking Place.  Premiering at WhiteSpace Gallery in Atlanta in the summer of 2021, the installation was filmed and produced by Ms. Hall and includes a performance of Mr. Solammon’s original arrangement of “America the Beautiful.” The piece originated as a response to a piece of property in southeast Atlanta that is owned by the city and embodies the complex and traumatic history of America and particularly the South.

from Mary Stuart Hall on Vimeo.

Taking Place includes a film of a melancholy marching band repeatedly playing the song, which has become more of a funeral dirge than an upbeat song meant for a parade. According to the artists’ statement, the unorthodox version of the familiar song calls into question our experience of America as “beautiful” for everyone and seeks to highlight the gulf between the promise of America and the reality of America. The installation is a poignant reminder that the anthems and slogans that represent America have fallen out of sync with the reality of our country; the simple gesture of playing a familiar song out of tune helps bring that dissonance into focus.

In November, the second iteration of Taking Place occurred in Richmond, Virginia at InLight, a two-night outdoor event held by 1708 Gallery. For this version of the project, Virginia Union University’s marching band, The Ambassadors of Sound, played a live performance of the piece while obscured behind a line of trees. The sound emanated at a slight distance from the audience, becoming a ghostly presence that underlined the objectionable playing of the tune. 

Congratulations to Ms. Hall and Mr. Solammon on this incredible, collaborative installation!