Scarlett Hendricks sees photography as an art form that is vital to helping us to remember the past and enables that past to live forever. Scarlett is one of three photographers who will photograph the 50 Elders of North Louisiana and historically significant architecture in North Louisiana that was created during the Great Depression / New Deal Era.
Having lived all but four out of forty-four years at the polar ends of the “eye twenty” corridor has given me the unique opportunity, as well as the perspective, to share my eyes and to bring that vision to life with the click of my shutter and the light that was present. From going back to my hometown to photograph one “Elder” that was my grandparents’ attorney, and my portrait being his last, to hearing stories from another “Elder” about the “little Tallulah” movement to Las Vegas (a history too little told), and about famous singers, such as B.B. King and Cab Calloway, belting out tunes at the Green Lantern – these are some of the experiences I’ll never forget from working on “Triumph Over Tragedy.”
My family’s Louisiana roots originate in Mound, a small “town” on the eastern end of Louisiana through which “eye twenty” runs. A great deal of the family land was sold during the 1930s to the federal government for participation in a New Deal project. I grew up in Madison Parish, more specifically Tallulah, and have spent all my summers on Lake Bruin in Tensas Parish, and, to this day, this is my children’s favorite vacation spot. I quote my 17-year-old son from an essay he wrote in English class this year, “In my lifetime I have been to a wide range of places across the Earth; I have been to Paris, London, Madrid, New York, and the Rocky Mountains. Although I have experienced a variety of cultures, none of these places could compete with our family vacations to Lake Bruin. It is my favorite place in the world.”
Now living in Shreveport, at the western end of the “eye twenty” corridor, I may sometimes dream dreams of foreign places and spaces that strike my fancy, but I am always aware that my roots run 150 years deep in the dark soil of the North Louisiana delta. And I know these roots will grow even deeper, as my son’s words attest. I am haunted – but undaunted – by a history we all share in this region – a history of pain and suffering – but a history, too, of triumph over tragedy.
Perhaps it was inevitable, then, that Pam Atchinson of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council would invite me to participate in this unique project. And how could I refuse?
I honor these “Elders” whom I was blessed to meet, photograph, and learn from. I want to thank them all for opening up their homes and their hearts, and instructing me with their histories. I have been enlightened by their example of living life fully and deeply. My light before was dim but now it is brighter, a gift that has been given me from the sharing of tragedies as well as triumphs. I hope my photographs reveal some of this light and, in some small way, convey the special ennobling spirit that each of the “Elders” possess. Their courage and strength and wisdom are life lessons that I will always cherish. May this gift from the “Elders” continue to burn bright for all of us to see.
**I would like to honor the recent passing of Mr. Edgar Lancaster, one of my hometown “Elders”; he was warmly known by his friends as “the last southern gentleman.”
For more information on Scarlett, visit her website at www.photographybyscarlett.com or email her at scarlett@photographybyscarlett.com
