Sofia Gaviria Partow, Contributing Photographer

The exhibition on tackling the urban ecology of Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood is currently on display at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music’s Miller Hall.

“Take Me As I Am: Redemption and Grace for the Discarded,” which features the work of Southern American artist Lance Flowers and curator Robert Hodge, premiered with an opening panel featuring the artist and curator on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and will remain on display at Miller Hall until Dec. 5. Flowers and Hodge’s project combines digital artwork with materials found in the Third Ward to tell the story of an artistic and spiritually vibrant community that has recently faced gentrification. 

“The ways that Lance Flowers has mixed these found objects, and produced other forms of digital art, demonstrate aspects of his own spiritual journey and the diverse religious and spiritual communities found in the Third Ward,” wrote Eben Graves, assistant director of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, to the News. 

Through the use of discarded materials in his art, Flowers attempts to challenge the perceived value of these no longer desired objects. In his artist’s biography at Miller Hall, for instance, Flowers compares these abandoned materials to Biblical characters who were similarly undesired by society but nevertheless became central influences in the religious text. 

Additionally, Flowers explores the notion of what his biography calls “discarded people” through the themes of gentrification and displacement in his artwork.

The Third Ward is home to a predominantly Black community and is located within prime real estate in Houston. Its residents face constant threats of upheaval and removal. Multiple pieces in the exhibition tackle these issues, with one digital print reading, “This is OUR HOME; IT IS NOT FOR SALE,” and another, “Third Ward Is Our Home And It’s NOT FOR SALE!” 

“All artworks presented in the exhibit are a compilation of stories; histories of people and events over the centuries and accounts of people and events taking place in the present,” Anesu Nyamupingidza, an exhibitions postgraduate associate at ISM, wrote to the News. “Sitting with Lance and hearing these stories is a phenomenal experience in itself because each object or icon in his works carries a story of its own.”

In the opening panel discussion, Flowers and Hodge shared their own personal anecdotes. 

In one instance, they discussed the story behind the piece “Thy Beloved Youth (Frances),” a crayon sketch that Flowers created while on the Yale campus. The piece stands out as the only non-digital drawing featured in the exhibition, alongside the other multimedia works made from found materials.  

In the sketch, a woman whose face is depicted in blue crayon is a college student who lost her life in the crossfires of a shooting at her university dining hall. This woman was revealed to be Flowers’ aunt during the opening panel. 

“I found this story interesting because she’s not the only story [Flowers] decided to put into [his art]. There’s also another piece, the Sheila Jackson, that speaks on a lady that just recently passed away this year,” Nyamupingidza said. “A lot of people have also forgotten about her.” 

Nyamupingidza referred to a piece titled “South Eating Vine (Kudzu),” which alludes to former Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson who was running for governor when she died of pancreatic cancer this year. The piece depicts her candidacy poster barely visible behind a vine that is consuming it. 

Another piece in the exhibition, titled “As You Are,” incorporates multiple found materials. It features a bottle of Promethazine, highlighting the issue of substance abuse. Meanwhile, a communion cup and a crown of thorns brought from Jerusalem represent the spirituality of the Third Ward. Lastly, a DJ Screw cassette tape and the sheet music for Psalm 88, composed by a Third Ward resident, signifies the musicianship and artistry of the neighborhood’s residents.  

“It presents this picture of life in the Third Ward — the different challenges and resilience and the joy of the artistic forms as well,” Graves said. “This [piece] was the one that really caught my attention when [Flowers] was putting up the exhibition, it really spoke to me.”

Houston DJ and ethnomusicologist Jason Woods accompanied Flowers and Hodge in their talk. Bringing with him a carrying case full of vinyl records, Woods played examples of gospel and jazz music from the Third Ward. 

Nyamupingidza and Graves described the process of connecting with the New Haven community through Flowers and Hodge’s project, particularly given the two cities’ similar experiences with gentrification. 

“It’s applicable to a lot of gentrified communities,” said Rohan Lokanadham ’27 after seeing the piece reading, “This is OUR HOME IT IS NOT FOR SALE.” He continued, “New Haven is the same in the sense that as time goes on and Yale expands it’s increasingly gentrified.”

The Yale Institute of Sacred Music at Miller Hall will host two more exhibitions this school year, with its next exhibition premiering in January through its ecology initiative.