Ghost Cabin in the Sky
November 6, 2010
It’s odd that a visit to an opening reminded me of a song, but more about that later.
Georgia Appalachian Studies Center Ghost Cabin
On Thursday, I attended the reception for a new art show, “The Cabin,” at the Vickery House in Dahlonega, home to the Georgia Appalachian Studies Center. GASC at North Georgia College & State University supports residents and visitors in learning and living the Appalachian story with classes, conferences and programs around Appalachian music, art, dance and gardening.
The ghost cabin above has been constructed next to the Vickery House and is based on the external dimensions of the Smulian-Thompson log cabin, an area home built in 1832 that has been donated to GASC and that will be moved to this site next year.
“The Cabin” show is an exhibition of photographs of the Smulian-Thompson cabin taken by students in Paul Dunlap’s photography classes. The exterior and interior views are arranged to create a sense of approaching the square-logged cabin, walking past a carriage and being welcomed in by the residents for a visit. We find tableaus from a much earlier era. Rocking chairs inviting us to sit a spell and talk things over in the warm glow of oil-filled lamps. An array of what seem, by today’s standards, oddly proportioned and unfashionably colored glass bottles. Handmade furnishings comfortably at home in their nooks and crannies.
For me, seeing the photographs of the cabin generated a whispering voice with an invitation: “For a few minutes, let go of your crazy-busy schedules, your cars, televisions and cell phones. Come back to a time when our circles and concerns are more closely tied to the land, the seasons and nature. When daily mountain life is simpler, but the need for greater self-reliance makes it challenging in ways you can only imagine.”
About that song I mentioned earlier… viewing the ghost cabin and the show made me recollect “Ghost Riders in the Sky” by Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson along with fellow Highwaymen Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. BTW, this YouTube version is a rowdy/high times live performance – if these guys aren’t the ghost riders in the sky, I don’t know who is. But I digress.
In the song, a ghost rider admonishes a cowpoke to change his ways if he wants to save his soul. While we can’t turn back the clock and trade in our contemporary lifestyles, the ghost cabin is inviting us – perhaps as mountain hikers instead of cowpokes – to look at how we live, reflect on what’s essential and consider changing our ways to assure the enjoyment and preservation of our mountain soul: a rich Appalachian heritage, abundant options for great times and a bounty of natural resources.
I hope you get a chance to visit the ghost cabin and “The Cabin” show and do some slow seeing. Let me know about your experiences.
