Picturing the South: 25 Years

 

Picturing the South: 25 Years

 

Devil’s Crossroads


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Object Details


Artist/Maker

Shane Lavalette, American, born 1987

Date

2010

Medium

Pigmented inkjet print

Dimensions

Please contact the Museum for more information

Credit

Commissioned with funds from Paul Hagedorn and the Friends of Photography

Accession #

2012.27.5

Image Copyright

© Shane Lavalette.

Description

This intersection in Clarksdale, Mississippi, is known as the Devil’s Cross-roads. Legend has it that at this junction renowned blues musician Robert Johnson, woefully in search of a tune to play one evening, crossed paths with the Devil. He handed his guitar to the Devil, who tuned the instrument, and Johnson agreed to sell his soul in exchange for the gift of musical greatness. The spot is marked with three blue guitars on a pole. Clarksdale is one of numerous towns in Mississippi that claim the location of the mythical crossroads.