Screen shots of Bert Williams exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City.
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New York, NY- The first
Bahamian actor ever to be captured on film is being recognized as a pioneer
during a five-month long exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New
York City.
Bert Williams is a name that
is etched in the sands of time.
The late Nassau-native is one
of few black men in the late 1800s and early 1900s who maintained a successful
film and music career.
With partner George Walker,
Williams pioneered the advancement of black performances in integrated musical
comedies.
After Walker died, he
continued his dynamic career, winning a Tony Award and cementing his name in history.
The exhibition at MOMA titled
“100 Years In Post Production: Resurrecting a Lost Landmark of Black Film
History” began on October 24,2014 and will continue until March 2015.
The exhibit includes screen
shots, a film showing of a lost film and a behind the scenes look at the film
in which Williams is seen speaking with Caucasian directors at a time when
integrated films were almost non-existent.
In the film, Williams applied
a black makeup to cover his skin – a trend that became increasingly unpopular
with the African-American community in later days.
Associate Curator at MOMA Ronald
Magliozzi said it took a decade to complete all the research needed to produce
the two-storey exhibition.
“I’ve always loved Bert
Williams’ recordings. He was a remarkable performer and that’s how it started,”
he said.
“I was always fascinated with
how he was presented in ‘Black Face’ and I got more and more engaged with him
and when I discovered that the museum had an unidentified film with him I was
sold.”
Magliozzi said Williams’
contribution to the American film industry is tremendous.
Bert Williams and co-star Mary Pickford
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“Unfortunately, he was not
allowed to make many films and until now he has not been considered a key
figure. But I think that this discovery and the amount of performance that you
are allowed to see free of all of the racism is going to rewrite history and
rewrite his reputation in film. I would project that this film will probably be
recognized by the Library of Congress as a landmark film and that makes me very
proud and happy for Bert,” he said.
The curator is not alone in
his thinking.
Director of the Schomburg
Centre for Research in Black Culture Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad said it is
important that Williams’ contribution is taken seriously particularly because
of his West Indian heritage.
“We have a wonderful diaspora
from the Caribbean and to have a star of his caliber for the time period and to
be able to see him and his films is a wonderful moment for Bahamian history,”
he said.
Pulitzer Prize winning Cultural
Critic Margo Jefferson also lauded the exhibition.
“The exhibit is incredibly
exciting. It’s a great West Indian actor brought to life in ways that we have
not been able to see,” she said. “He has been mythic legendary and now we can
see what his great craft was.”
Senior Director of Global
Marketing in the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism in New York Valery Brown-Alce said
she is proud of the exhibit, which is the first of its kind.
“We are so proud that we are
a part of MOMA and it’s exhibition in New York,” she said.
“Secondly, to be a part of
something where a Bahamian made history when you look at the film and you see
that he became one of the first black men in theatre to be integrated it’s a
proud moment, he is a proud son of The Bahamas and so we couldn’t be more
pleased.”
Kamela Forbes Mattheson, a
Bahamian who lives in New York, also gave her stamp of approval on the
exhibition.
“I think it is excellent,”
she said. “I think it speaks to his upbringing which started in The Bahamas. He
cultivated his talent in America. Being from The Bahamas I would like to take
pride knowing that he was nurtured there.”
Screen shot of Bert Williams with co-stars in the film "Black Face"
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Sr. Director of Global Marketing Valerie Forbes-Alce of the Ministry of Tourism, Bahamas Consul General in New York Carolyn Young-Miller, Bahamian Kamela Forbes Mattheson and Public Relations Coordinator in MOT Kendea Smith.
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