Initial exhibit meeting

the Way of the Day exhibit team


Thomas Day furniture exhibit

Group #1’s members include:

·         Beth McGee

·         Jon Pearl

·         Hailey Allen

·         Sarah Harris (absent on wed

·         Chelsea Epes (absent on wed)

·         Lauren Kaulfman

·         Laura Kimmer (absent on wed)

·         Anuj Patel

·         Carlie Blake

·         Kelsey Walker (new on Wed)

·         Shirley Bircher (new on Wed)

Monday 9-26-11 meeting notes.

The meeting with all members present began with topic discussions for the exhibit which included the following:

The first idea was from Beth, who brought up Thomas Day’s furniture and gave a brief description of his story.  The book “Thomas Day: master craftsman and free man of color” by Patricia Phillips Marshall and Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll was also noted as available for information.  Carlie thought of the idea of displaying silverware and the various implements used in dining and then a historical account of their evolution.  Hailey offered the idea of collapsible furniture and the use of various forms throughout history.  Carlie also brought up the idea of displaying the history or use of the pinch.  Beth offered the idea of Julius Schulman and his major influence on modern architecture with the support of a Netflix documentary called “Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman”. 

After analyzing and discussing these topics, we had no additional ideas after this and so we decided to take a vote on the ideas we had.  Thomas Day was the winner unanimously.  A possible list of research sources offered by the group included the book noted above, available in the Jackson library and the IARC office, and the Thomas Day exhibit that was at The North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh called “Behind the Veneer: Thomas Day, Master Cabinetmaker.”  According to their website, this museum exhibit “goes behind the veneer of antebellum North Carolina to reveal its complexities. Many restrictive laws applied to free people of color, except the right to own property. By capitalizing on this freedom, Day built a life for himself….”  Our idea is to look at a different point of view.  Another support for the research is the use of interviewing Jo.  Beth has already asked her for access to the photographs that were in her book, and she graciously said she thought she did have access to them and we could use them. 

 

Wednesday 9/28/11 meeting


We decided to stick with our original decision and broke up into our three groups.  Each group is responsible for seperate tasks.  Exhibit piece options will be posted by each member.