We met artist Kenseth Armstead at a Breakthrough gathering, where he told us about his fascinating project Spook 1781.

photo courtesty of eyebeam.org

The project is about James Armistead Lafayette, a black soldier/spy in 1781. He was a sneaky, brilliant, genius, slave who ended up fighting in the revolution and being one of the main reasons our country exists as it does today.

Now Kenseth, (who also has the namesake of this historical figure, with a slightly different spelling) didn’t just want to share this fascinating story via the written word- this is a full-fledged multimedia project with a game, a movie, and more in the works. Read Kenseth’s thoughts on Mr. Armistead, taking on a project this size, and how race doesn’t exist.

How did you come up with the name Spook 1781?

In the summer of 1781, James Armistead Lafayette was the sneakiest man in America. By providing intelligence, James succeeded in liberating our insurgent forefathers from the British Empire. Spook^TM is a multimedia installation project based on James’ true story as a double agent spy for America’s first Director of Central Intelligence, George Washington.

The term “Spook” has three common definitions; first, a ghost or specter; second, it’s an 18th century derogatory term for a Negro; and finally, it has been used, from the beginning, by CIA operatives as a name they call themselves.  It was a natural to call the project Spook, it sounds so naughty, and then locate it in the odd time frame of the Revolution.

How did you know that James Armistead Lafayette’s story was the one that needed to be told?

I discovered James’ true story while doing a little family research on Google  (The original spelling of my family name is Armistead.)  I couldn’t believe that I’d never heard it.  Seeing the revolution through James’s eyes, his perspective, as a slave to masters who wanted freedom from wage slavery, was a unique one.  I realized that if I didn’t do something, no one else would.

How do you think Spook 1781 contributes to conversations about race & human rights?

Race does not exist. It is not a defined scientific category that anyone recognizes. It is a construct, a fiction, that we update, use, disuse and constantly revise based on ideas that grow out of ethnicity, Narcissism, folk tales, xenophobia, nationalism, bigotry & flat out misconceptions.  There are only human rights when it comes to people & all human beings should be treat equally under prevailing local law.

History is a way to either extend or combat a racialized point of view. James was an African who was never promised freedom.  Still, he fought to create the country where “all men are created equal.”  This is real patriotism and sacrifice.  Providing a space for people to pretend to be James without type casting allows a position shift that is matter of fact.  True empathy cannot be achieved in any other way than trying to be someone else, by walking in their shoes.  Only empathy has the possibility to overcome racism because it is a deeply engrained social practice / methodology.

You have a film in the works, a video game, an installation, graphic novel, etc.  Why did you choose so many mediums for your project?

First and foremost the Spook^TM project is an artwork / installation based exploration of Negro involvement in the American Revolution. It uses the process of filmmaking as a way to engage viewers.  When I began to build it out, I had to do two years of research, read every significant document that refers to the incident, and then write a feature length screenplay (130 pages = a 2 hour & 10min film).  I’d never done anything so ambitious.  Once the story was clear to me. It was easy to imagine a constellation of expressions that could be developed over time.  There are very few truly transmedia ideas, but a spy story works as an artwork / installation environment, a video game, a graphic novel, a book and film format equally well.  The key element is the time, wisdom and resources to produce each, most effectively, in sequence or simultaneously.

What’s one word that sums all that goes into producing such a complex, creative project?

INDEFATIGABILITY

What are you most surprised about (reactions, comments) when people experience Spook 1781?

It’s fun, really fun!  Pretending to be an 18th century Negro Spy rocks!  The performances are never quite Cinematic, but it doesn’t matter. The process is about creating a transition from viewer to creator. Everyone who steps onto the hand-drawn set, whether I’m filming that day or not, becomes an active producer of a truer, more personal history of the American Revolution.

What new media object can you not live without? (iPOD, black berry, etc).

This does not compute.  I’m only addicted to coffee!

On a more personal level, what’s something people would be surprised to know about you?

I’m a painfully shy and quiet person.

August 20, 2009 by crissy spivey
Tags: artist, b-side chat, human rights, installation, James Armistead Lafayette, Kenseth Armstead, Race, Spook 1781