Dust to Dirge: An Earth Elegy

In this meditative piece, Ashanti Chaplin unwrapped her ArtNow: The Soul Is a Wanderer work Earth Elegy, accompanied by an original score co-composed and performed with Gabriel Royal. Earth Elegy is an installation comprised of video, aural, sculptural, and material impressions of the thirteen Historic Black Towns in Oklahoma: Boley, Brooksville, Clearview, Grayson, Langston, Lima, Red Bird, Rentiesville, Summit, Taft, Tatums, Tullahassee, and Vernon. Collaborating with community members and civic leaders, Chaplin collected clay, soil, sound, and video documentation from each town. The obelisk—an earthen element that references its ancient purpose of recording the history of a place—is made with clay collected from the thirteen towns.