Bristol museum to display Marty Stuart photos

Although known primarily as a country music star, Marty Stuart is a master storyteller not only through his songs, but also through the revealing photographs he has taken. Whatever the subject, Stuart is able to tease out something unexpected or hidden beneath the surface through a skillful sense of timing and composition, as well as a unique relationship with the sitters often based on years of friendship and trust.

American Ballads: The Photographs of Marty Stuart, is a collection of Stuart’s images coming to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, in Bristol.

The show will be at the museum from August 1 through January 31, 2020.

The exhibition is organized around three themes:

THE MASTERS

While touring with Lester Flatt’s band in 1974, Marty Stuart discovered bassist Milt Hinton’s candid photographs of fellow jazz musicians in a Greenwich Village bookstore. He had been exposed to the medium’s ability to portray aspects of everyday life through his mother, Hilda Stuart, a skilled photographer, and realized that he could document the country music world with the same approach that Hinton had taken with jazz. He had access to the great figures of country music through Flatt, who took him under his wing at age 13.

As Stuart says, “Walking into the Grand Ole Opry with Lester Flatt was the equivalent of walking into the Vatican with the Pope. His endorsement gave me instant acceptance into the family of country music.” Being a trusted member of the inner circle has allowed Stuart to capture the stars in moments of unguarded intimacy and honesty.

BLUE LINE HOTSHOTS

Marty Stuart has been traveling on the road as a professional musician for over four decades. Along the way, he has been intrigued by the unique characteristics of towns he passes through, learning about the local history, architecture and music. He especially seeks out the quirky residents “who have enough Elvis in them to give America its spice.” Stuart lovingly refers to these people as “Blue Line Hotshots” because, at one time, the two lane highways and back roads of our nation were represented on maps as blue lines.  Whether his subject is a devoted fan, passionate preacher, or gutsy Dolly Parton impersonator at a state fair, Stuart respects their individuality and willingness to stand out in our increasingly homogenized world.

BADLANDS

Marty Stuart first encountered the Lakota people in the early 1980s when he, as a member Johnny Cash’s band, played a benefit on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Stuart immediately felt a strong kinship with the tribe and began to make yearly pilgrimages to Pine Ridge in an effort to establish meaningful connections with its members. Twenty years later, Stuart was adopted into the tribe and given the name O Yate’ Ö Chee Ya’ka Hopsila, or, the man who helps the people.

As with the country music community, Stuart gained unusual access to and the trust of the typically guarded Lakota inner circle. His photographs of both everyday life and traditional ceremonies do not romanticize the culture nor overlook the tragic conditions often found on the reservation—poverty, alcoholism, and unemployment—but rather present honest portraits of dignity, strength, and perseverance.

American Ballads: The Photographs of Marty Stuart was organized by the Frist Art Museum, Nashville, Tennessee. Special thanks to The Massengill-Defriece Foundation for their support of the exhibit at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.

The museum is located at the corner of Cumberland and Moore streets in Bristol, Virginia.

Pick up a copy of the current Smoky Mountain Living magazine to read our interview with Marty Stuart! Available at retailers and bookstores throughout the southeast.