To Kill a Mockingbird: Anniversary inspires art

Earlier this month, we let you know we’d be covering the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird by Alabama native Harper Lee. One of the biggest celebrations is happening now in Alabama. In April, the Alabama Humanities Foundation kicked off a series of events called “TKAM 2010: To Kill a Mockingbird — Awakening America’s Conscience,” which culminates in an art auction May 22 in Montgomery.

Events include:

May 18-21, Stonehenge Gallery, Montgomery: preview art exhibit featuring works of art inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird (Hours: May 18–20, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; May 21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
May 20, 7:30 p.m., Capri Theatre, Montgomery: showing of To Kill a Mockingbird motion picture (Admission charged)
May 22, 6 to 9 p.m., Wynfield Estates, Montgomery: art event and auction (Tickets: $50 per person, to go on sale May 5 on ahf.net/mockingbird )

The art show features pieces inspired by TKAM:

All of the exhibit’s works of art, including pieces by nationally known artists Nicolosi, Nall, Charlie Lucas and William Christenberry, as well as a host of other talented Alabama artists, will be auctioned as part of a special reception and celebration hosted by AHF in Montgomery at Wynfield Estates … May 22 from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will be attended by Mary Badham, who portrayed Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in the film, and Alabama’s Pulitzer Prize winners Rick Bragg, Joey Kennedy and Harold Jackson, among others. Attendees will also have the opportunity to view a sneak-preview screening of the documentary film Our Mockingbird, by independent filmmaker Sandra Jaffe …. Our Mockingbird is a one-hour documentary film about the influence of Harper Lee’s novel after 50 years. Interwoven through the documentary is the story of two high schools, Mountain Brook and Fairfield, who come together to create a coproduction of To Kill a Mockingbird. How these two groups of students are thrust together and learn about the struggles in their hometown and the larger meanings of the story expresses the lasting impact of the novel. The film also includes interviews with Alabama scholars Wayne Flynt and Nancy Anderson.

Here’s a sampling of the art, which varies just as much as readers’ reactions to the book:

“Mocking Us” by Darius Hill