# @drawingcenter on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BViGpjOBqpP
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/16046853-drawingcenter-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/cd54b48dcf.jpg
- **Posted:** 2017-06-19T19:27:48.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Drawing Center (@drawingcenter) — https://gondola.cc/drawingcenter

## Caption

Gary Simmons’ “Ghost Reels” drawing installation is on view in The Drawing Center stairwell through January 2018. According to Simmons, the work reflects “the memories of actors that have been blurred in the history of Hollywood film . . . a kind of silence in both voice and visibility.” Here we explore the contributions of African American actors and musicians of the early 20th century. 〰
George Theophilus Walker was the first African American composer to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music, for his 1996 work “Lilacs”. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1922, Walker was performing publicly as a pianist by the age of 14 and was the first black instrumentalist to perform at Town Hall in New York, in 1945. Walker composed his first piece, “String Quartet no.1”, in 1946. His extensive musical education took place in the United States and in Europe. He graduated from Oberlin College at 18 years old, then as the first black graduate of Curtis Institute of Music in 1945. In the 1950s he developed musically in Europe while on a Fulbright Scholarship, and in 1954 toured as a musician through seven European countries, including much of Northern Europe, England, and Italy. Over the course of his career, which spans more than half a century, Walker has composed over 90 musical works and won countless awards for his cleverly composed pieces. Walker’s legacy as a musician extends to his sons, one a violinist and composer and the other a playwright. 
#GarySimmons #GeorgeWalker #GhostReels 
Photo: a detail of Gary Simmons’ installation.

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## Tags

ghostreels, georgewalker, garysimmons

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