(note that David and Hannah have created a web page that goes into the details of production and other aesthetic choices they made in the making of the Look Away video. Check it out at www.LookAwayProject.com)
Join Hannah Garrity and me this Saturday at 2PM for the release of the new music video for Look Away, from my most recent record, Still. Hannah and I created the video with a great deal of careful intention. The way the video was made, as well as the content of it, both reflect the disorientation of racism and speak to, and through, our own family histories. It took me many years before I realized that the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy, Dixie, actually says the quiet part out loud, accidentally speaking some uncomfortable truth: over and over, the song says, “look away,” and that’s exactly what we have too often done. Looking away from the hard parts of our history and present, the parts we’re not proud of, has not worked out very well, and the song and video are an invitation to new engagement.
This Saturday, July 8, at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, Hannah and I will share the video, and also launch a new web page that annotates the project, sharing some perspective on particular content in the video, as well as how and why we made the aesthetic choices we made and included the images we chose. Hannah and I will discuss the project, share the video, and take questions from folks who attend. This will be an online-only event, and there is no charge. We hope you can join us! To save your digital seat, click here to register, and then join us at this same link on Saturday. Hope to see you there!
“Look Away” … truth telling at its finest both musically and visually. So well done! Thank you David and Hannah.