Andrew Feiler

Without Regard to Sex, Race, or Color: The Past, Present, and Future of One Historically Black College Andrew Feiler

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references.; Atlanta's Morris Brown College was founded by the AME Church in 1881 and shut down by fiscal mismanagement and scandal in 2002. Photographer Andrew Feiler approaches the demise of Morris Brown and the state of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through the provocative medium of contemporary photography. In the spirit of other contemporary urban photographers such as Joel Sternfeld on NYC's High Line and Andrew Moore in Detroit, Feiler aims his photographic lens onto one embattled black college in Atlanta. Feiler's stated aim is to open minds, trigger emotion, stimulate discussion, and, perhaps prompt action. His portfolio of images projects a new layer of meaning to the Morris Brown story--; Provided by publisher. Review Quotes: "Andrew Feiler's photographs of the stilled campus of Morris Brown College conjure a haunting story that invites important dialogue on race, progress, and opportunity in America."--Brett Abbott, Keough Family Curator of Photography and head of collections, High Museum of ArtReview Quotes: "Andrew Feiler's photographs put into perspective Morris Brown College's great legacy and history; they give a glimpse of what once was and, more importantly, offer a vision of what can be. The photographs convey a sense of rough edges, of incompleteness, reminding me of an unpolished stone. They inspire me to want to make a difference, and I hope they will motivate others to be a part of our transformation." --Stanley Pritchett, eighteenth president of Morris Brown CollegeBiographical Note: Andrew Feiler, a fifth-generation Georgian, is an award-winning photographer whose work has been featured in museums, galleries, and magazines and is in a number of private collections. His photography is focused on the contemporary complexities of the American South. More of his photography can be seen at andrewfeiler.com. Robert E. James is a Morris Brown College alumnus, a former member of the Morris Brown board of trustees, and president of Carver State Bank in Savannah, Georgia. Pellom McDaniels III is faculty curator of African American Collections at Emory University's Woodruff Library and an assistant professor of African American studies. He is the author of "The Prince of Jockeys: The Life of Isaac Burns Murphy." Amalia K. Amaki is an artist, writer, curator, and critic who has served as professor of art history and visual studies at Spelman College, University of North Georgia, University of Delaware, and University of Alabama. She is the author of (with Andrea Barnwell Brownlee) "Hale Woodruff, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, and the Academy." Loretta Parham is CEO of Atlanta University Center's Woodruff Library. Publisher Marketing: This gathering of sixty images, along with the essays that frame them, gives us a new way to think about the too often troubled status of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The bell in the clock tower at Atlanta's Morris Brown College bears an inscription about the ideal of educational access, that it be "without regard to sex, race, or color." Yet most of the Morris Brown campus has lain silent for more than a decade. Established in 1881, it was all but shut down in 2002 after years of fiscal hardship were capped by a mismanagement scandal. Pride still runs high among its alumni, however, and its current leadership vows to revive the school. Meanwhile, as Andrew Feiler's stirring photos show, Morris Brown is literally falling apart. In the spirit of those photographers who have documented the physical decline of our valued institutions--from small family farms to entire cities--Feiler points his lens at one embattled place and dares us to look away. Aiming to "open minds, trigger emotion, stimulate discussion, and, perhaps, prompt action," his images project a new layer of meaning onto the Morris Brown story. We see classrooms, dorms, gym facilities, and other spaces no longer alive with students, faculty, and staff but rather mired in a state of uncertainty where hopes of normality's return mutely battle a host of unwelcome alternate futures. We see how time passes without regard for academic years, regular maintenance cycles, or the other comings and goings that would ordinarily call attention to the leaks, invading animals, acts of vandalism, and other forces working to peel the paint from Morris Brown's walls, buckle its floors, and molder its furnishings. We see garbage piling up alongside sports trophies, scientific equipment, and other vestiges of the prouder past we would rather remember. Feiler's photos are accompanied by writings that address the college's profound impact on one family, history and memory, the documentary and narrative powers of photography, and the place of HBCUs in American public life. Images and text combine powerfully to show us what happens when a place meant to be honored is left to its own. A Sarah Mills Hodge Fund Publication Published in association with the Georgia Humanities Council