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8 WHAT'S UP! JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2022 FEATURE Candidly Johnny Cash Photo exhibit captures iconic prison concert DWAIN HEBDA Special to the Democrat-Gazette T he debate over the purpose — and success — of incarceration rages on today. But in at least one case — that of J.R. "Johnny" Cash — prison was a redemptive experience, even if it was just for two musical performances in January 1968. And now, thanks to a traveling photographic exhibit open through Aug. 11 at The Center for Humanities and Arts at University of Arkansas Pulaski Tech in North Little Rock, music fans can revisit the events that reshaped the Man in Black and rewrote music history. "[The exhibit] is a glimpse at a landmark cultural moment of somebody who is an American original, who really made a step forward in his career and his ability to connect with people by playing this particular show," says Tim Jones, Pulaski Tech's director of public relations and marketing. "It's seldom that any artist is able to achieve that sort of thing in one fell swoop. [Folsom Prison] was a singular event in musical history and in Johnny Cash's life." Officials have been awaiting the exhibit, titled "1968: A Folsom Redemption," for the better part of three years, according to Kurt Leftwich, director of CHARTS programming and events. He says the collection originally went on tour in 2018 to mark the 50th anniversary of Cash's Folsom Prison concerts and has been on the move ever since, even making a stop at the restored Johnny Cash Boyhood Home in Dyess Colony (Mississippi County). Leftwich says the motivation for bringing the exhibit back to Arkansas was an obvious one. "Johnny Cash is one of Arkansas' favorite sons, basically, and this brings back that history," he says. "… We'll have people who will probably come out and take a look at it to remind themselves of that history. "But we also hope to introduce this bit of history to a bunch of new people who may not even know very much about it. Obviously, this is from a long time ago, decades before many people on campus were born. It's a good reminder for a lot of people and also an introductory thing for the next generation to let them know why this concert held in this prison was such a big deal." Cash himself likely didn't know what the Folsom Prison concerts would mean at the time, even though they were recorded for "Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison," today considered one of the landmark American music albums. In 1968, it was simply an effort for a fallen star to correct the arc of his career, playing in front of the people he knew and understood best. It had been a little more than a decade since Cash burst onto the musical landscape in 1955 with "Hey Porter" and "Cry! Cry! Cry!" and scoring his first No. 1 with "I Walk the Line" the following year. In between, he released "Folsom Prison Blues," a song inspired by a movie Cash saw while in the service, "Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison." The stripped-down tune ultimately charted in the top five in America, serving as a springboard for the hits that were just around the corner. But by the mid-1960s, Cash's brand was fading fast, in large part due to events in his personal life. His first Dan Poush, "Before the First Performance; Portrait with Guard Tower," Jan. 13, 1968; digital scan from original negative. (Courtesy of the John R. Cash Revocable Trust, photographed by Dan Poush) FAQ '1968: A Folsom Redemption' WHEN — Closes Aug. 11; gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays WHERE — Windgate Gallery, The Center for Humanities and Arts (CHARTS), University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock COST — Free INFO — uaptc.edu/charts/wind- gate-gallery