Joanne Hyppolite, Ph.D., chief curator at HistoryMiami, talks about the Bob Marley Messenger Exhibition in HistoryMiami 10/10 to 1/4. Miami is the last stop before it returns to Jamaica to be dismantled in Bob’s home town, NINE Mile.
If you could take one item home from the Bob Marley Messenger exhibition, what would you take?
I would say his famous Les Paul guitar considering the music history that’s been made with it but I really think that belongs to the family. It had been on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a long time and I heard that when it was taken out for this exhibition that Ziggy Marley took it home for a while first because he wanted to be able to just be with it and play it. I can imagine how close he must feel to Bob, his father, when he does that and I’d want to honor that. So my choice would be the photograph of Bob Marley visiting his former Jamaican home in Nine Mile. He’s sitting on the steps of his old house visiting with the neighborhood as if he’s just anybody. In reality he’s already been out in the world and become a huge international success. By then Marley really knew who he was, musically and personally, and what his message and mission would be with his music. It’s a nice contrast to the earlier photos where you see him just starting out on his musical journey.
What were your first thoughts when you knew for certain the Bob Marley Messenger exhibition was coming to HistoryMiami?
When I first heard about the exhibition, my first thought was “we have got to have this here!” It’s so appropriate for South Florida, which not only has one of the largest Jamaican populations in the United States but has also become a real hub for reggae music as well. It was also fitting for HistoryMiami because we have a long record of displaying music history and culture exhibitions. So I went to the opening in L.A. in 2011 and immediately started lobbying for it to travel here. We were one of the firsts to ask for it so it wasn’t difficult to get considered. We’ve known it’s been coming for 2 years now.
Were you a big Bob Marley fan before you became involved with the Bob Marley Messenger exhibition? Have you become a bigger fan?
I was a typical Marley fan in the sense that I own one Bob Marley album (Legend) and I know the melody to half a dozen Bob Marley & The Wailers songs. Other than that I had not delved deeply into his career or his life. This exhibition has afforded me the opportunity to get to know the man behind the legend. Learning about his spiritual beliefs and seeing how he infused them into his life and music particularly impressed me. He’s more than earned his status.
What’s your favorite Bob Marley song?
“Buffalo Soldier” because I’m an African American historian and the buffalo soldiers are a fascinating and little-known part of American history. I like the part where he sings, “If you know your history, then you would know where you’re coming from.” That’s the beauty of history. I also love the transatlantic connections he is making to black people in the United States, the Caribbean and Africa.
In your own words, share your thoughts about the exhibition.
Bob Marley Messenger is about letting people get up close and personal with the legend the way only a museum can offer you — through personal artifacts from and about his life. You can see a film, you can listen to the music and those are great but museums let you see real stuff — the original materials that were a part of or surrounded his life.
What will be different about the Bob Marley Messenger exhibition in Miami versus London, Montreal and LA?
We re-designed the exhibition for our space and tried to amplify the “messenger” theme. You’ll see that through the use of Bob’s lyrics and quotes in the exhibition. We also organized things a little differently. For instance at previous venues, you got to see Bob’s guitar and shirt as separate items. We combined a number of artifacts related to Bob being on stage together to recreate the performance experience. We also added a video which explores the impact Bob Marley has had on South Floridians. It’s a testimony from us to him.
Do you plan on visiting the exhibition once it moves to Jamaica?
I’ll see it the next time I travel to Jamaica. Right now the Bob Marley Museum is or will be undergoing renovation and no hard date has been set yet for when the exhibition components will be on view there.
What would Bob Marley think about the exhibition and the events surrounding it?
The family has played such an important role in helping to produce the exhibition that I think he’d be happy about that. I hope he’d be proud to see how his legacy has lived on and through the number of visitors who have seen the exhibition, how much he continued to connect to people today.
What was Ky-mani Marley response when asked to perform?
We don’t know his personal response. This was handled through their business agent. – Response by Victoria Cervantes, Vice President of Communications at HistoryMiami.
