Sal Robinson, our Lucy Ricciardi Assistant Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, discusses the artist Ashley Bryan and his 2015 book Sail Away, in which Bryan paired poems by Langston Hughes on the subject of water—oceans, seas, rivers, and rainstorms—with his own vibrant cut-paper collages. In our current exhibition Ashley Bryan & Langston Hughes: Sail Away, the original collages, now in the Morgan’s permanent collection, will be joined by paintings, prints, photographs, recordings, and some work in unusual formats, such as Bryan’s puppets made from sea glass, shells, and other found materials, to explore the conversation between these two great Black artists and the role of seas and rivers in their work.
Video By SandenWolff