Spirit in the Land, which accompanies the art exhibition of the same name, examines today's urgent ecological concerns from a fresh perspective. Through their artwork and writing, the artists show how cultural identity and traditions are deeply rooted in our relationship with the land, illustrate the restorative need to return to nature, and exemplify how biodiversity and cultural diversity are essential to our survival. The exhibition and catalogue center the voices of underrepresented artists, approaching ecological awareness and environmental, social, and racial justice from the perspectives of the marginalized communities most negatively affected by today's crises. Acting as environmental stewards, the artists reveal nature to be a repository of cultural memory, a place of sanctuary, a contested site of resistance, and a source of spiritual nourishment. As land and water provide a sense of place and community, the exhibition aims to reconnect people to the natural world, illustrating our interdependence with all life on Earth. Spirit in the Land speaks to the urgency of today and projects a hopeful path for our future, where nature is cared for by humans, so that in turn nature may heal humanity. Artists: Terry Adkins, Firelei Baez, Radcliffe Bailey, Rina Banerjee, Christi Belcourt, Maria Berrio, Mel Chin, Andrea Chung, Sonya Clark, Maia Cruz Palileo, Annalee Davis, Tamika Galanis, Allison Janae Hamilton, Barkley L. Hendricks, Alexa Kleinbard, Hung Liu, Hew Locke, Meryl McMaster, Wangechi Mutu, Dario Robleto, Jim Roche, Kathleen Ryan, Sheldon Scott, Renee Stout, Monique Verdin, Stacy Lynn Waddell, Charmaine Watkiss, Marie Watt, Carrie Mae Weems, Peter Williams The exhibition will be on view at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University from February 16 to July 9, 2023. Publication of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

"The Record" is the full-color catalog accompanying the groundbreaking exhibition "The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl," at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University from September 2, 2010 through February 6, 2011. The first exhibition to explore the culture of vinyl records in the history of contemporary art, "The Record" features rarely exhibited work and recent and newly commissioned pieces by thirty-three artists from around the world. These artists have taken vinyl records as their subject or medium, producing sound work, sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, photography, video, and performance. Works by well-known artists such as Laurie Anderson, Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, and Carrie Mae Weems appear alongside those of other North American artists, and of artists from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, some of whom have never before exhibited in a U.S. museum. Among the works shown are David Byrne's original Polaroid photomontage used for the cover of the 1978 Talking Heads album "More Songs about Buildings and Food," the fictive soul "album covers" created by the outsider artist Mingering Mike in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and "Wheel of Steel" (2006), an arresting narrative of record-playing told through digital photos by the South African-born and Berlin-based artist Robin Rhode. In addition to the 225 images, 200 of which appear in color, the catalog includes personal reflections and critical analyses. All of the artists in the exhibition contribute personal statements about their work in relation to the vinyl record, and critics and scholars explore the historical impact of the record on art and music and the ways the medium has helped shape individual and collective identities.""

Contributors
Jeff Chang
Vivien Goldman
Jennifer Kabat
Mark Katz
Josh Kun
Barbara London
Mac McCaughan
Carlo McCormick
Charlie McGovern
Mark Anthony Neal
Piotr Orlov
Luc Sante
Trevor Schoonmaker
Dave Tompkins

Combine elements of Bob Marley, Malcolm X and Patrice Lumumba you get a sense of the power of the world's wildest rockstar. Fela created Afrobeat, an infectious mix of American funk and jazz with traditional Yoruba and highlife music, and used it to rail against the corrupt, hypocritical Nigerian government. Repeatedly targeted by police and military for his rebellious, counter-culture lifestyle, he created a political party and seceded from the Nigerian state, renaming his commune the independent "Kalakuta Republic." Cultural icon and beloved hero of the pan-African world, Fela loomed large: captivating enormous crowds with electric performances (in Speedos or superfly suits), cherished by musicians from Paul McCartney to Mos Def, mourned by millions after his death from AIDS in 1997. These essays explore his fiery life and ever-growing legacy.

Featuring the work of sixty artists and including 300 illustrations, the catalog Southern Accent accompanies a major contemporary art exhibition that questions and explores the complex and contested space of the American South. This unprecedented exhibition investigates the many realities, fantasies, and myths of the South that have long captured the public's imagination, while presenting a wide range of perspectives that create a composite portrait of southern identity through contemporary art. It looks at the South as an open-ended question and concept in itself by encompassing a broad spectrum of media and approaches, demonstrating that southernness is more of a shared sensibility than any one definable culture or style. While the exhibition includes artwork from the 1950s to the present, it primarily focuses on the past thirty-five years. With numerous contributions by artists, scholars, musicians, and poets, a music-listening library, and a timeline of scholarship on southern art, this catalog redefines the way we look at the South in contemporary art. Southern Accent will be on display at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University from September 1, 2016 to January 8, 2017 and at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, from April 29, 2017, to August 20, 2017. Contributors. Diego Camposeco, Mel Chin, Brittney Cooper, John T. Edge, William Fagaly, Carter Foster, Brendan Greaves, Harrison Haynes, Patterson Hood, Miranda Lash, Ada Limon, Mark Anthony Neal, Catherine Opie, Fahamu Pecou, Richard J. Powell, Tom Rankin, Dario Robleto, Trevor Schoonmaker, Bradley Sumrall, Natasha Trethewey, Kara Walker, Jeff Whetstone Selected Artists: Walter Inglis Anderson, Benny Andrews, Radcliffe Bailey, Romare Bearden, Sanford Biggers, Mel Chin, William Christenberry, Robert Colescott, William Cordova, Thorton Dial, Sam Durant, William Eggleston, Minnie Evans, Howard Finster, Theaster Gates, Jeffrey Gibson, Deborah Grant, Barkley L. Hendricks, James Herbert with R.E.M., Birney Imes, George Jenne, Deborah Luster, Kerry James Marshall, Jing Niu, Tameka Norris, Catherine Opie, Gordon Parks, Ebony G. Patterson, Dario Robleto, Xaviera Simmons, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Hank Willis Thomas, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol, Carrie Mae Weems Publication of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University