Sparkle & Twang brings both legends and everyman emotion to CDS

A snapshot of a pastor holding his Bible in front of a Baptist church, a close-up of a medicine man from the Lakota tribe and a formal portrait of Dolly Parton—Sparkle & Twang: An American Musical Odyssey presents these seemingly disparate photographs in an intimate yet democratic collection by celebrated country singer Marty Stuart.

The series of black-and-white photos, on display at the Center for Documentary Studies, offers a holistic look into Stuart’s church-going, rhythm-and-blues America, adding a personal touch to the traditional genre of documentary photography. The collection features both recognizable characters, such as Bob Dylan, B.B. King and Ray Charles­­, and everyday citizens of old America who Stuart encountered during his time working and traveling as a musician—a 1980 snapshot of a black man lollygagging in front of the White House, dryly entitled “The President of the United States,” comes to mind.

The photographs vary in approach as much as they do in subject matter. The exhibit includes formal portraits, including one of Johnny Cash taken four days before he died in 2003, but many of the pictures have a familiar feel and capture musicians at ease in cafes and Nashville recording studios.

In another effort to document the past, Stuart also dedicates a significant portion of the exhibit to the Lakota tribe, whose South Dakota reservation Stuart first visited while touring with Johnny Cash’s band. Located on a different floor, this section initially seems disconnected from the rest of Sparkle & Twang. However, his portraits of a Lakota queen, a medicine man and the vast emptiness of a field with a sole buffalo in the foreground parallel Stuart’s attempt to preserve a forgotten people and time. Stuart also features more recent folk heroes, such as Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, illustrating how the tradition of the past is alive in the present.

Thirty years later, the preservation of American people and places emerges as the dominant theme of Sparkle & Twang. Every detail of the portraits stands out, from the subjects’ facial expressions, to what they wore, to where they lived and worked. Contrary to what you might expect, the portraits of big-name celebrities by no means steal the spotlight of the exhibit—Stuart’s portraits are honest, direct and treat his subjects as if he knew they would, one day, be historical treasures. As varying as they may initially seem, the portraits of Sparkle & Twang are intimate and poignant, bringing the viewer on a veritable odyssey through the history of American musical heritage.

Sparkle & Twang is on display through March 31 at the Porch and University Galleries in the Center for Documentary Studies.