Freeman Vines Hanging Tree Guitars

Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Radio

In this episode of The African American Folklorist, I speak with Freeman Vines, a North Carolina guitar maker and bluesman. Vines shares with us the context of his latest project Hanging Tree Guitars, which has a spiritual connection, supernatural elements, as well as a tree used for possibly multiple lynchings.

The book is a collaboration between Freeman Vines, photographer Timothy Duffy, and folklorist Zoe Van Buren. Van Buren writes, “Vines and Duffy have since embarked on a relationship of artistic exchange that has transformed their respective bodies of work.” Duffy says that he planned for his shoots for six months just absorbing and taking in Vines and his work. The book also exposes lingering prejudices and unspoken boundaries in rural eastern North Carolina uncovered during an investigation of the region’s history. Vines dove into one specific lynching, learning from research, interviews, and intuition. One friend warned him not to ask too many questions, saying, “These white folks around here are still white.” Van Buren writes, “The hanging tree period took an emotional toll on both Vines and Duffy.”

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