Evry Thing That Glitta... Ain't
Inspired By August Wilson's Black Bart and The Sacred Hills
Evry Thing That Glitta... Ain’t is an ode to the sayings of our elders and ancestors.
In this solo exhibition, artist Ricky Davii (b. 1989 St. Louis, MO) reflects on the lessons that they were taught at a young age and in adulthood - going after the “gold” but keeping in mind to stay on the paths that make you happy and not allow others successes to rule where you should be in your journey.
Davii was inspired by Wilson’s Black Bart and the Sacred Hills despite critics saying it was one of the worst plays they had ever seen, Wilson didn’t give up; he didn’t look at what his peers were doing. Instead, he followed this piece with Jitney, which would be the start of his famed American Century Cycle.
This show is for the dreamers who create, even when it makes no sense. “A fool and his gold is soon parted.“
Presented by: The August Wilson Archive at the University of Pittsburgh Library System.
This show is displayed at Hillman Library in the University Of Pittsburgh until April 2024.
Evry Thing That Glitta... Ain't The Short:
Director: Ricky Davii
Videographer: Anthony Rivera
Production: Slick
Editing: Da Young Bouls
Heavy Music Instrumental: Tanerélle & Chillhop Publishing
Dear Ancestors and OGs,
Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for supporting me in dreaming as big as I can.
I am here because of all of the things you would tell me, like everything that glitters ain’t gold.
I am honored to present this exhibition with your teachings in mind. As my journey has been nothing but linear I have faith that because you loved me enough to keep me humbled, cared enough for me to keep me in your prayers and praised me enough to keep me creative, I am going to the places that I am meant for.
Thank you for everything.
This portion of my exhibit is dedicated to my newest angel Denzel Avery Jones (1995 - 2020) you are truly missed cuzzo.
With that... here is my feature presentation,
This is my take on Black Bart and The Sacred Hills. Enjoy the cliff notes of the antics in the city of Little Eygpt.
54in x 40in. Acrylic Mixed Material
BLACK BART
Alchemist Extraordinaire
It was giving main character energy. He literally turned the Little Egypt upside down with a gold stunt that went down in history. He legit made gold out of water.
Hiding in the Sacred Hills, the gold that Bart created shifted the economy making everyone in town very upset. He pissed them off so much that they plotted on his downfall.
They tried everything. Even went as far as sending someone with a “pure heart” to bait him as this was the only way to get passed the Invisible Electric Angels that protected the Sacred Hills.
Spoiler Alert: He indeed took the bait.
But you have to remember that he was a very smart person. He knew that they were coming for him. Bart knew that they sent Fair Life to him as a way to get close to the gold.
Bart always was the man with the plan. After all the guy did break out of jail.
Another Spoiler Alert: Bart turned all of the gold into fools gold. So when the people of the town finally got into the Sacred Hills, Bart, the former cattle rustler and magician was long gone with his new lady, Fair Life, yeah the one with the pure heart. They set up shop somewhere else and lived happily ever after with his right hand man, Who the owl.
54in x 40in. Acrylic Mixed Material
LIZZIE FAREWELL
Grand Dame of Little Egypt
Whew Chile, Lizzie Farewell was a lot of things.
She was the one who kept everybody in check, including the mayor, Pharaoh Goldstein and the girls down at the Ho Down.
Ya see she led the women out on strike against the patriarchy. A real feminist if you will.
“You thought you got rid of us with Susan B. Anthony, but here we are again, dropping the i’s and r’s off of Miss and Mrs.”
Spoiler Alert: Lizzie is the same feminist that didn’t mind sending a girl, Fair Life, the one with the pure heart to the Scared Hills to steal the gold. However she fell in love with Bart and ran away with him. Scandal.
Lizzie Farewell, or Mother Principle, wanted a piece of the real pie. The one that the men were eating.
“We worked our way back on the scene with bigger tits and no bra.”
Yeah, she was the one.
54in x 40in. Acrylic Mixed Material
HORSEFEATHERS
Keeper of Secrets
Oh Horsefeathers. According to the people of Little Egypt he was a crazy old man who sat on a barrel in the front of the famed Ho Down.
Little did they know, he was the most important person in the town. Ya know why? Because he knew everyone’s secrets.
People would talk right in front of him because they didn’t see him. Not literally but because they thought less of him.
The modern Indian said, “People will stand right in front of me and hold secret conferences... like I ain’t there or can’t hear or something. Like I was one of them Invisible Angels.
Horsefeathers had his own agenda. He wanted to blow up and own a cigar store.
He knew that the very thing the people were so eager to steal was in fact not real. However he didn’t tell a soul.
Spoiler Alert: He helped Lizzie Farewell and Pharoah Goldstein plot to get into the Sacred Hills and a shot at the gold.
He truly was the real MVP.
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36in x 48in. Ink, Pencil, Acrylic Mixed Material
THE SACRED HILLS TEA
Horsefeathers Notes
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men who didn’t treat their lady right
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people being shocked almost to death because they didn’t have a pure heart trying to get to the gold
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friends backstabbing each other for the come up
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women being treated like pawns in the game of greed
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a talking owl named who
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neo-capitalists that runs businesses and is in love with another mans wife.
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an invisible electric angel that gets put out of Sacred Hills because he is too much of a ladies man and got caught up.
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a mayor that runs the construction company that takes money from the people in the town and runs an import/export business out of the local Ho Down.
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a virgin that has a pure heart and ends up running away with Bart and the gold.
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Bart went undercover into the town to find Fair Life and ended up in a magical duel with one of the men.
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once people got into the Scared Hills they found nothing but fool’s gold.
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a man who fell on hard times and about to lose his woman to a rich man, so he decides to be one of the ring leaders in the operation to take the gold.
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the pastor of the town was the ring leader in trying to stop Bart from making more gold. He agreed to split the gold between him, Hijack, Ms Principle and Pharoah and called it the Lord’s Will.
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Bart got away.
Now, That is it Y'all. You have reached the end of the exhibition. Thank you for supporting my first solo exhibiton! It's only up from here!
But before I dip out, remember....
Evry Thing That Glitta... Ain't.
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36in x 48in. Ink, Pencil, Acrylic