Artists' Books

The 14 Negro Students of Noyes Academy, Canaan, New Hampshire

The 14 Negro Students of Noyes Academy, Canaan, New Hampshire

Tia Blassingame
Special Collections, Rhode Island School of Design
Fleet Library, Rhode Island School of Design

Description

1 sheet : illustrations. Library has copy no. 3 of 10 (tan copies) RISD Alumna, MFA Printmaking 2015. Fleet Library at RISD Alumni Collection."2019, risograph printed, folded brochure, 2.5 x 3.75 inches (closed), 10 x 7.5 inches (open). Available in two paper colors: grey and tan. Edition Size: 35 copies (25 (grey), 10 (tan) copies)." -- vendor's description. "Printed during Summer 2019 International Print Center New York artist residency, 'Students' was risograph printed at Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop. This artist's book consists of a two-sided folded brochure with text by the author and nineteenth century verse by African American students of an integrated school. The front of 'Students' discusses my research on the students, their birth status as free or enslaved. Images in red ink also appear of the boarding house where several students resided. The backside has their verse set against a background of the twenty-four star flag that would have been used during the school's tenure from 1834-5. Verse was written by two former students of the African Free School in New York City. Several of the Noyes Academy students go on to become great orators, religious leaders, one becomes one of the first African American students at Dartmouth College. This book represents the first in a set of artists' books I'm creating regarding this school. The book form of 'Students' was inspired by the brochures available at the National Park Service and historical sites across the country. As such it is meant to be informative and guide you in connecting our history to our current situation. The color scheme- red, black, and blue- ties directly to the colors of the flag, but also colors that represent struggle, pain: black and blue, red, respectively." -- author/publisher