Western regional head archivist co-authors book on Black Mountain

From a Press Release:

Western regional head archivist co-authors book on Black Mountain

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — From 1933 to 1957, Black Mountain College was on the leading edge of the avant garde and a pioneering influence in the worlds of art and literature. A new book about the college will be released Oct. 20. It is co-authored by Anne Chesky Smith and Heather South, head archivist at the Western Regional Office of the N.C. Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

The Black Mountain College interdisciplinary approach to learning, the elimination of grades, and the social integration without regard to gender or race made it a magnet for many poets, composers, designers, artists and others in search of an alternative educational experience. It became a model for the nation.

Many images never published before are found in the new title, “Black Mountain College.” Among them are images of the Blue Ridge Assembly and Lake Eden locations where the school operated and images of famous artists and innovators, including Josef and Annie Albers, John Cage, Merce Cummingham and Buckminster Fuller.

Arcadia Publishing, a leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States, includes 200 vintage images in this chronicle of the college’s unique history. Anne Chesky Smith grew up in the Swannanoa Valley and has written three books about the region. Heather South has worked with historical documents for more than 15 years and has been head of the Department of Cultural Resources’ Western Regional Archives since it opened in Asheville in 2012. The Black Mountain College papers are in the Western Archives collection and are used by researchers regularly.

For additional information, please contact Heather South at (828) 296-7230, x 240. The Western Regional Office is administered by the Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s cultural resources to build the social, cultural and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan W. Kluttz, NCDCR’s mission is to enrich lives and communities by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history and libraries in North Carolina that will spark creativity, stimulate learning, preserve the state’s history and promote the creative economy. NCDCR was the first state organization in the nation to include all agencies for arts and culture under one umbrella.

Through arts efforts led by the N.C. Arts Council, the N.C. Symphony and the N.C. Museum of Art, NCDCR offers the opportunity for enriching arts education for young and old alike and spurring the economic stimulus engine for our state’s communities. NCDCR’s Divisions of State Archives, Historical Resources, State Historic Sites and State History Museums preserve, document and interpret North Carolina’s rich cultural heritage to offer experiences of learning and reflection. NCDCR’s State Library of North Carolina is the principal library of state government and builds the capacity of all libraries in our state to develop and to offer access to educational resources through traditional and online collections including genealogy and resources for people who are blind and have physical disabilities.

NCDCR annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council and the State Archives. NCDCR champions our state’s creative industry that accounts for more than 300,000 jobs and generates nearly $18.5 billion in revenues. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.