Liberty Studio and Digital Arts Department Unveils New Art Exhibit

Liberty University’s Studio and Digital Arts Department unveiled a new exhibit, “The Art of the Graphic Novel: Sound of the Trumpet,” which will be in the Liberty University Art Museum from Feb. 10-28.  

Barron Bell, assistant online professor of art and design, served as the lead artist and editor for this project.  

The exhibit approaches the story of Frederick Douglass and John Brown through the means of a graphic novel. This public display provides opportunities for visitors to engage in conversations about the importance of history and the impacts of slavery and racial equality on future generations.  

Bell collaborated with screenwriters Dustin Green and Jim Morrison IV as well as the Douglass Leadership Institute for the development of the graphic novel, “Sound of the Trumpet.” Previously, Bell worked alongside Green and Morrison in a prior animation project, “The Runaway Plot.” Part of this project is on display with the current exhibition in the museum.  

Bell described this work as a “labor of love” and said he is glad to display this tough part of history while representing the perspective of early Judeo-Christian values during this period.  

As viewers experience the self-paced exhibit, they can learn from every detail of the graphics and the artistic styles that Bell incorporated into his work.  

“We have some fantastic and very large visuals, and I said to the students in the gallery team that I want people to feel like they’re walking back in history,” Bell said.  

Upon entering the exhibit, students will see large screen projections of the novel’s cover along with newspapers that address historical events like the Harpers Ferry Raid, Bleeding Kansas and more from the abolitionist movement. Visitors will also be able to see the process of the book’s creation and explore the role of the student interns and the Douglass Leadership Institute throughout the creation of the graphic novel. There is also a video interview with Bell and other project contributors discussing the development of the project.  

Alongside the “Sound of the Trumpet,” Liberty’s School of Government also provided an exhibit of “The Manumission Project.” According to the exhibit’s notes, research fellow Andy Langeland worked to compile historical notes found from former slave owners who freed their slaves before the Emancipation Proclamation. The exhibit displays replicas of those documents. 

“Ten Liberty University Studio & Digital Arts students had the opportunity of a lifetime to intern with Dr. Barron Bell in creating the novel,” Todd Smith, founding director of the Liberty University Art Museum said. “Dr. Bell and I discussed an exhibition of his work in the LU Art Museum several years ago. After a time of brainstorming and planning, the exhibit came together.  The partnership of the Studio & Digital Arts Department with Dr. Bell and other university schools and departments have been a wonderful experience for our students. Above all, God receives the glory.” 

Bell wants students to learn from these historic events and to remember the elements of faith and Christianity within the story. He also wants to emphasize the relationship between Douglass and Brown as they strived to emancipate slaves and lead them to freedom.  

“This is not about a story of a victim,” Bell said. “This is the story about an American patriot who overcame this very horrible condition in many different ways with the assistance of a white man, a Christian white man.”  

Bell also wants African Americans to see themselves in this exhibit, no matter what their age is.  

“I want them to focus on the fact that this is a part of history, and we are in this tapestry of the American story in a very special way,” Bell said.  

Bell noted the timeliness of this exhibit within the fractured status of our nation and how it can help bring about discussions and allow Christians to be leaders during these discussions.  

“This exhibit and this book that we’re doing is a conversation starter to help us to reconcile differences, to help us to see good in each other, to help us try to find points of commonality,” Bell said.  

A film based on the graphic novel is also in preproduction. Green and Morrison are working with republicSEVEN to produce this film with a similar goal of having positive conversations about these historic events. 

The “Sound of the Trumpet” exhibit will be on display in Green Hall 1350 until Feb. 28.  

For more information about “The Sound of the Trumpet,” visit republicSEVEN and download a sample copy today.  

Sanford is a feature reporter for the Liberty Champion.