CITY OF BONES
#14 Pittsburgh Community Engagement Center, Homewood
track description:
“death and resurrection”
In continuance of Black art and literary traditions, August Wilson’s work often explores the relationship between the living and dead. This track features dialogue from three of Wilson’s plays, with samples from pianist Ahmad Jamal’s “Death and Resurrection”.
The track opens with the voice of Chadwick Boseman as Levy in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, his last acting role before his death, filmed in Pittsburgh. It was a return to the city for Boseman, who produced his play Hieroglyphic Graffiti at Pitt’s Kuntu Repertory Theater, his first professional work after graduating from Howard University.
The track also features the voice of artist Latoya Ruby Frazier (Homestead) and writer John Edgar Wideman (Homewood).
about City of Bones
City of Bones | Gem of the Confluence is a mixtape that explores August Wilson’s artistic life and theatrical work through the rich history of Black music in Pittsburgh, collaging archival audio and play dialogue with the sounds of artists such as Mary Lou Williams, Ahmad Jamal, and more.
The mixtape and installation are based on August Wilson’s play Gem of the Ocean, set in Pittsburgh circa 1904. In the play, the elder Aunt Ester invites a troubled Citizen Barlow to a meeting with his ancestors in the mythological City of Bones.
Following Aunt Ester’s instructions to Citizen Barlow, the mixtape is installed at various sites across the city relevant to this history.