John Henry Incomplete Track List + (Extended)

John Henry Extended is a continuation of various media art explorations reimagining the life and identity of John Henry. My interest in this topic lies in my family history. My grandfather’s name was John Henry Scott, and he died before I was born. The stories I’ve heard about him aggrandize him in many ways that make him feel bigger than human at times. The pressure that the ideals of overworking to death for your family is extremely harmful and pervasive, but normalized in the black community.

John Henry was a real person. He was a man who ended up going to jail for petty theft and during his sentence had to work on the railroad. His story ended up being commodified and propagandized to a point where it was unrecognizable and thought to be completely fictional. It told white audiences what a good black father would do for his family, and in turn what respectable blacks ought to do. This is the beginning of displaying some of what I’ve learned about the rippling effects of this folktale and how John-Henryism permeates and has permeated American society.

The programs used to create this work are a combination of Ableton Live 11 Suite with its Max for Live capabilities and VDMX. All of the clips are cut out of various retellings of John Henry related to a previous video piece I did on examining the differences in media surrounding John Henry. There are many samples used to create the instrumentals to start off as a more satirical critique of the folktale of John Henry and transition into hinting at the more serious ramifications of these kinds of stories.

This project was made possible with support from the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund Microgrant #2023-046.