Sacred Steel: African-American Holiness-Pentecostal churches

In the House of God churches, members of the congregation began playing sacred music on the electric steel guitar in the late 1930s. Today, the tradition flourishes and its premier figures include Robert Randolph, Chuck and Darick Campbell, Willie Eason, Sonny Treadway, Aubrey Ghent, Calvin Cooke, The Lee Boys, Glenn Lee, Elton Noble, Ted Beard, Josh Taylor, Footie Covington, and Henry Nelson.

In his book, Sacred Steel: Inside an African American Steel Guitar Tradition, Robert L. Stone follows the sound of steel guitar into the music-driven Pentecostal worship of two related churches: the House of God and the Church of the Living God. A rare outsider who has gained the trust of members and musicians inside the church, Stone uses nearly two decades of research, interviews, and fieldwork to tell the story of a vibrant musical tradition that straddles sacred and secular contexts.

 

Most often identified with country and western bands, steel guitar is almost unheard of in African American churches - except for the House of God and the Church of the Living God, where it has been part of worship since the 1930s. Sacred Steel traces the tradition through four generations of musicians and in some two hundred churches extending across the country from Florida to California, Michigan to Alabama. Presenting detailed portraits of musical pioneers such as brothers Troman and Willie Eason and contemporary masters such as Chuck Campbell, Glenn Lee, and Robert Randolph, Stone expertly outlines the fundamental tensions between sacred steel musicians and church hierarchy.

 

In this thorough analysis of the tradition, Stone explores the function of the music in church meetings and its effect on the congregations. He also examines recent developments such as the growing number of female performers, the commercial appeal of the music, and younger musicians' controversial move of the music from the church to secular contexts.

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The Campbell Brothers - Morning Train.

Inspire: mortal & visible

Inspire: mortal & visible – a group show of eight new-generation artists - is the next offering from the Wallspace Gallery according to their latest mailing.

This is the first of an annual series of exhibitions showing the work of emerging and mid-career artists. On this occasion, they've gathered together eight artists with a track record in highly individual explorations of the human condition.

The exhibition runs from 23 April – 23 May 2008 at Wallspace, All Hallows, London Wall, EC2M 5ND. Entry, as usual, is free. Opening times are: Tuesday – Friday 12–6pm; Saturday 11am – 4pm.

The artists are: Jyll Bradley, Aileen Campbell, Julie Cook, Katharine Dowson, Kaori Homma, Cath Keay, Rona Smith, Sparks (Sparks are a collaborative group of three artists – Michael Gough, Andy Huntington and Caz Puntis – so technically there are 10 artists altogether!).

Julie Cook combines 'found materials of comfort' as protection against, or healing for 'internal turmoil, collective trauma and pain'. Rona Smith and Jyll Bradley examine, respectively, moments of everyday and heightened ritual. Japanese-born Kaori Homma deals with feelings of displacement and disinheritance and the concept of ‘eastness’. Aileen Campbell draws on her choral background to challenge assumptions about what it means to 'give voice'. Katharine Dowson responds to the fabric of the church, using glass to harness light in an ethereal exploration of miraculous biblical narratives. Cath Keay’s earthier extruded clay sculptures depict the dialogue of female psychiatric patients who discuss their feelings in very physical terms. The collaborative artists' group Sparks employ their distinctive ‘skills switch’ to produce a mixed-media meditation on hope.

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Elvis Costello - Deep Dark Truthful Mirror.