Tides of Freedom Opens at Fort Frederik Museum

M.A. Dworkin

St. Croix - On July 3, 1848, thousands of slaves, led by free slave Moses “Buddhoe” Gottlieb, put their life on the line to execute a year-long plan to demand their freedom on the streets of Frederiksted Town. By early that afternoon, a message from the Fort Frederik Commander to Governor General Peter von Scholten, who was on another part of the island, read: “All the negroes in this part of the country are in revolt; all over, bells are ringing.” 

The slaves gave von Scholten a 4 pm deadline to liberate them. When he arrived at the Fort, von Scholten’s carriage was surrounded by 8,000 slaves who were silently awaiting his decision. He stood up from his carriage and declared: “All unfree in the Danish West Indies are from today free!”

As the word of ‘freedom’ rang out through the air and spread across the island of St. Croix, there was singing and dancing in the streets and around the countryside.

Such is the historical setting that has been laid down for the marvelous exhibition, Tides of Freedom - Legacies of Resistance from the USVI to the USA, that opened recently at the Fort Frederik Museum in Frederiksted. 

It is certainly no coincidence that this beautiful and thoughtful art show, curated by the ever-brilliant touch of Monica Marin, the Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums Chief Curator, transcends time as it presents itself in this historic Fort and brings to all who visit a chill of empathy that runs from the present day to that day of Emancipation nearly 177 years to the date. 

The old tattered walls of Fort Frederik, the cold rooms that have stood the test of time and storms, now singing with that same joy of freedom, a similar rush of emancipation; but also singing with the joy of artists who have recreated their feelings about the hour General Buddhoe blew the conch shell that gathered all those who had dreamed and wept for a better life in a better world, on an island where they were born, loved and ultimately betrayed by human savages. 

When one thinks at all about the concept of freedom, what it means to each of us, who best exemplifies that concept, in human form, but the artist. Who else marks their place in time, by taking mental flight to all parts of the world, the exosphere, the outer edges of the mind, and the deep space of universe; exploring the hidden scenes, the dream-like images, the creatures, great and small, of far away places none of us could ever see or imagine, and bringing them back for all to wonder and applaud, in the form of a painting, a sculpture, a work of art. 

Lucien Downes is such an artist whose canvas explodes with the images of a world that is not particularly of man’s making, a place that is perhaps halfway between heaven and earth. In his Queen of the bomboula, and Ladies of the mist, both hand painted Giclee prints, we see, feel and touch a master artist at work. This is not just a display of the right of human freedom, Mr. Downes seems to be sending a message of universal freedom, an endowment of every living creature, no matter where they roam.

Waldemar Broadhurst, Breaking the Chains, wire sculpture, cries out to us in a sad but joyous way. The past will always be there, it can never leave us and we can never escape it, but the future brings newness, gaiety, celebration. We have broken free and we deserve the chance to dress the way we want and live life to its fullest.

Victoria Rundberg-Rivera, M.D., Guazabara (Taino Warrior), acrylic on wood/driftwood and bone bead frame, is no doubt a curious work. Her signature female face, splashed in expressive colors, the wild shock of curly hair, set against a drift of watery blues and flora greens. It appears as if it’s a face from back in time staring out through the waters of the future. But this jagged driftwood frame stops whatever preconceived notions you are having about this painting. There is a battle that has been fought here, This is not a face that has just exited  a cosmetic store. This is a warrior, remembering wars won and lost.

Mike Walsh, As It Is, Roots & Barbed Wire, is a sculpture that can rip the heart right out of you if you let it. There is so much angst and sorrow presented here in this spindly twist of roots and barbed wire. What more can be said. This is slavery. This is what the inhumane Lords and ship captains preyed upon as they rounded up the unsuspecting souls from Africa. Trapped and overtaken by the nonviolence of their roots, torn to shreds by the barbed wire that enslaved them.

EL’Roy Simmonds, Emancipation, acrylic on canvas, a permanent work of the museum, the artist’s perception of the happenings of that July day in 1868 reads like a story book, a graphic novel, with its geometric shapes and bold Caribbean colors. A masterful piece that is near impossible for the casual observer to interpret, and absolutely impossible for any art lover to forget.

Elwin Joseph, Freedom, watercolor, perhaps the seminal work that represents the emancipation of the chains of slavery foisted on the people of St. Croix. The blowing of the conch shell that gathered the thousands as they marched on Fort Frederick. There have been a hundred photos and paintings of this statue of General Buddhoe titled “Freedom” that stands in Buddhoe Park, but none presented with more drama and emotion than Mr. Joseph’s interpretation.

The cultural performances were a colorful and musical delight, provided by Olu and the AyAy Rhythm Ensemble, Music in Motion, and the We Dah Ya Cultural Dancers. 

Tides of Freedom, at Fort Frederik, runs through October.