Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts

Directed by Jeffrey Wolf

Year: 2018

Country: U.S.

Language: English

English Closed Captions

This illuminating documentary explores the life of a unique American artist, a man with a remarkable and unlikely biography. Bill Traylor was born into slavery in 1853 on a cotton plantation in rural Alabama. After the Civil War, Traylor continued to farm the land as a sharecropper until the late 1920s. Aging and alone, he moved to Montgomery and worked odd jobs in the thriving segregated black neighborhood. A decade later, in his late 80s, Traylor became homeless and started to draw and paint, both memories from plantation days and scenes of a radically changing urban culture.

Having witnessed profound social and political change during a life spanning slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and the Great Migration, Traylor devised his own visual language to translate an oral culture into something original, powerful, and culturally rooted. He made well over a thousand drawings and paintings between 1939-1942. This colorful, strikingly modernist work eventually led him to be recognized as one of America’s greatest self-taught artists and the subject of a Smithsonian retrospective.

Using historical and cultural context, BILL TRAYLOR: CHASING GHOSTS brings the spirit and mystery of Traylor’s incomparable art to life. Making dramatic and surprising use of tap dance and evocative period music, the film balances archival photographs and footage, insightful perspectives from his descendents, and Traylor’s striking drawings and paintings to reveal one of America’s most prominent artists to a wide audience.

Reviews

“Critic’s Pick! A sincere, nourishing account of the artist. Wolf makes excellent use of photo and film archives, laying out the territory that fed Traylor’s vision.”

- Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

"Brings the spirit and mystery of Traylor’s art to life and shines a spotlight on a creative gift that was long ignored and marginalized."

- Dave McNary, Variety

“Introduces to a wider audience one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, whose life traversed slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, the Great Migration and each’s accompanying tumultuous social and political upheaval.”

- Lisa Wong Macabasco, The Guardian

"Jeffrey Wolf’s exceptional documentary Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts seeks to tells its subject’s story in a deeply personal way, while also pulling back when needed to contextualize his work."

- G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

“Speaks volumes on the life and times of the artist. The pieces themselves… lend those ghosts of his past a persistent, ethereal relevance.”

- Michael Rechtshaffen, Los Angeles Times

"A spry and inventive account of extraordinary transcendence. Traylor was both an artist and a historian, and Chasing Ghosts is appropriately both a work of art and history—a beautiful film with a sense of swing and soul."

- Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine

"Bill Traylor’s art speaks to the universal language of humanity – a cry for justice, dignity and resilience."

- Andrew J. Young Jr., 14th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

“A celebration of art and the best of humanity transcending poverty, racism and despair.”

- Southern Poverty Law Center

“In Traylor, we can see the power of individual voice… the work is transcendent and essential.”

- Jerry Saltz, New York Magazine

“An extraordinary artist… Traylor’s pictures stamp themselves on your eye and mind.”

- Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker

Awards

Jury Prize for Freedom Award – Fine Arts Film Festival

Cast

Russell G. Jones
Sharon Washington
Jason Samuels Smith

Crew

Produced by Sam Pollard, Jeffrey Wolf, Daphne McWilliams, Jeany Nisenholz-Wolf and Fred Barron

Bill Traylor. Photo by Albert Kraus. Courtesy of the Collection of Tommy Giles Photographic Service.

Untitled (Dog Fight with Writing) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Bill Traylor. Photo by Jean and George Lewis, Courtesy Caroline Cargo Folk Art Collection (Cazenovia, NY).

Untitled (Yellow and Blue House with Figures and Dog) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Bill Traylor. Photo by Horace Perry, Courtesy Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Untitled (Man in Blue and Brown) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. And Douglas O. Robson @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Untitled (Woman with Umbrella and Man on Crutch) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Untitled (Construction with Yawping Woman) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Untitled (Chase Scene) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Micki Beth Stiller @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Untitled (Man, Woman, and Dog) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Untitled (Pig with Corkscrew Tail) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Untitled (Mule, Dog, and Scene with Chicken) by Bill Traylor from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson @1994 Bill Traylor Family Trust

Venue	City	State	Screening Options
ACME Screening Room	Lambertville	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Acoustic Java	Providence	RI	Virtual Cinema
Aetna Theater at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art	Hartford	CT	Virtual Cinema
AFI Silver	Silver Spring	MD	Virtual Cinema
All Saints Cinema / Tallahassee Film Society	Tallahassee	FL	Virtual Cinema
Ambler Theater	Ambler	PA	Virtual Cinema
American Folk Art Museum	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
Amherst Cinema	Amherst	MA	Virtual Cinema
ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks	Bethlehem	PA	Virtual Cinema
Athena Cinema	Athens	OH	Virtual Cinema
Athens Ciné	Athens	GA	Virtual Cinema
Bozeman Film Society	Bozeman	MT	Virtual Cinema
Brattle Theatre	Cambridge	MA	Virtual Cinema
Bryn Mawr Film Institute	Bryn Mawr	PA	Virtual Cinema
Burns Court Cinemas	Sarasota	FL	Virtual Cinema
Chelsea Theater	Chapel Hill	NC	Virtual Cinema
Cinema 21	Portland	OR	Virtual Cinema
Cinema Lamont	Oak Park	MI	Virtual Cinema
Cleveland Cinemas	Cleveland	OH	Virtual Cinema
Cleveland Cinematheque	Cleveland	OH	Virtual Cinema
Colonial Theatre	Keene	NH	Virtual Cinema
County Theater	Doylestown	PA	Virtual Cinema
Crandell Theatre	Chatham	NY	Virtual Cinema
Darkside Cinema	Corvallis	OR	Virtual Cinema
Denver Film / Sie FilmCenter	Denver	CO	Virtual Cinema
Detroit Institute of Arts	Detroit	MI	Virtual Cinema
Downing Film Center	Newburgh	NY	Virtual Cinema
Drexel Theatre	Columbus	OH	Virtual Cinema
Enzian Theatre	Maitland	FL	Virtual Cinema
Facets	Chicago	IL	Virtual Cinema
Film Forum	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema In Theater
Film Streams	Omaha	NE	Virtual Cinema
Fine Arts Theatres	Overland Park	KS	Virtual Cinema
Flicks Theatre	Boise	ID	Virtual Cinema
Gold Coast Film	Great Neck	NY	Virtual Cinema
Guild Cinema	Albuquerque	NM	Virtual Cinema
Harris Theater	Pittsburgh	PA	Virtual Cinema
Hayesville Opera House	Hayesville	OH	Virtual Cinema
Hiway Theater	Jenkintown	PA	Virtual Cinema
Jane Pickens Theatre	Newport	RI	Virtual Cinema
Laemmle Theatres	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema In Theater
Lightbox Film Center	Philadelphia	PA	Virtual Cinema
Lumiere Cinema	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Milwaukee Film	Milwaukee	WI	Virtual Cinema
Montclair Film Festival	Montclair	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston	Houston	TX	Virtual Cinema
Music Box Theatre	Chicago	IL	Virtual Cinema
North Park Theatre	Buffalo	NY	Virtual Cinema
O Cinema	Miami Beach	FL	Virtual Cinema
Park City Film	Park City	UT	Virtual Cinema
Pickford Film Center	Bellingham	WA	Virtual Cinema
Pickford Film Center	Bellingham	WA	Virtual Cinema
Portland Museum of Art	Portland	ME	Virtual Cinema
Princeton Garden Theatre	Princeton	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Red River Theatres	Concord	NH	Virtual Cinema
Rehoboth Beach Film Society	Rehoboth Beach	DE	Virtual Cinema
Rivertown Film Society	Nyack	NY	Virtual Cinema
Rose Theatre	Port Townsend	WA	Virtual Cinema
Roxie Theater	San Francisco	CA	Virtual Cinema
Sag Harbor Cinema	Sag Harbor	NY	In Theater
Salem Cinema	Salem	OR	Virtual Cinema
Salina Art Center	Salina	KS	Virtual Cinema
Salt Lake Film Society	Salt Lake City	UT	Virtual Cinema
Smith Rafael Film Center	San Rafael	CA	Virtual Cinema
Symphony Space	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
Tampa Theatre	Tampa	FL	Virtual Cinema
The Frida Cinema	Santa Ana	CA	Virtual Cinema
The Loft Cinema	Tucson	AZ	Virtual Cinema
The Miracle Theatre	Washington	DC	Virtual Cinema
The Neon	Dayton	OH	Virtual Cinema
The Nightlight Cinema	Akron	OH	Virtual Cinema
The Ryder Film Series	Bloomington	IN	Virtual Cinema
The Screening Room	Newburyport	MA	Virtual Cinema
Time & Space Limited	Hudson	NY	Virtual Cinema
Tivoli at the Nelson-Atkins	Kansas City	MO	Virtual Cinema
United Theatre	Westerly	RI	Virtual Cinema
Varsity Theatre	Davis	CA	Virtual Cinema
Wellfleet Preservation Hall	Wellfleet	MA	Virtual Cinema

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Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts

Directed by Jeffrey Wolf

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Directed by Jeffrey Wolf

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