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April 12, 1963 is an embossed paper framed like a painting and was created by Bethany Collins. From far away, it appears to be a blank sheet of white paper placed in a glass frame. Upon closer investigation, the viewer finds that the blank sheet is a reproduction of the front page of The Birmingham News (Birmingham, AL) from April 12, 1963, the words clearly embossed on the white paper.
Bethany Collins chose this specific newspaper and date to make a statement about who gets to write and document history. A few days before the paper was published, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a march and sit-in in the Birmingham area, which the newspaper failed to report. By leaving out specific stories like the highly charged march, history becomes incomplete and dull, like a blank sheet of paper.
You can view this work of art for yourself at the University Library.
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