Places for the Spirit: Traditional African American Gardens - Hardcover

by Vaughn Sills (Photographer), Hilton Als (Foreword by), Lowry Pei (Introduction by)

Places for the Spirit is a stunning collection of over 80 documentary photographs of African American folk gardens -- and their creators -- in the Deep South (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina). These landscapes have a unique historical significance due to the design elements and spiritual meanings that have been traced to the yards and gardens of American slaves and further back to their prior African heritage. These deceptively casual or whimsical foliage arrangements are subtle and symbolic reminders of the divine in everyday life, the cycles of nature, and implied right and wrong ways to live. In the spirit of "outsider" art traditions, blues musical roots, and other such folk manifestations, these gardens have a unique aesthetic and cultural significance. Over 20 years in the making, this is the first collection of fine art photography to document this subject and, as such, it adds greatly to our understanding and appreciation of this disappearing element of African American culture.

Author Biography

Vaughn Sills is an associate professor of photography at Simmons College and has been a fine art photographer for more than thirty years. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, and her photography has been exhibited across the country including in twenty solo shows, most recently at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. Her book One Family received an Award of Excellence from the Southern Library Association. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.