# @drawingcenter on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BRMJs9JBCL-
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/16047367-drawingcenter-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/ebb2edcbba.jpg
- **Posted:** 2017-03-03T20:45:37.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Drawing Center (@drawingcenter) — https://gondola.cc/drawingcenter

## Caption

[Swipe 👆] Gary Simmons’ “Ghost Reels” drawing installation will be 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. 
Born in 1898, Paul Robeson graduated as valedictorian from Rutgers College in 1919 and earned his LL.B from Columbia Law School while acting off-Broadway and playing in the NFL in 1922. Already accomplished at the young age of 23, Robeson’s career in film began soon afterward, when he starred in Eugene O’Neil’s “All God’s Chillun Got Wings”. A famous figure of the Harlem Renaissance and true Renaissance man, Robeson also performed  as Othello at the Savoy in London, where his exposure to working class England served as a formative experience in his activism. Dedicating his life to civil rights and opposition to fascism and colonialism, Robeson was targeted during the era of McCarthyism for his beliefs. His passport was revoked in 1950 and, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act after his death, he was the target of efforts by the State Department to discredit his image. Even so, Paul Robeson’s renditions of classic songs including “Ol’ Man River” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” are still recognized today.

#GarySimmons #PaulRobeson #GhostReels 
Photos: 1. Detail from Gary Simmons’ Ghost Reels at The Drawing Center. 2. Photo of Paul Robeson.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 323
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

ghostreels, garysimmons, paulrobeson

---
Copyright (c) Gondola