Dr. Jennifer Adler, assistant professor of history at ETSU, delivered a compelling gallery walk titled “Rendered in Place: History & Genealogy as Sacred Practices in the Folk Art of Reverend Jimmy Morrow” at the Reece Museum. In the talk, she focused on Rev. Jimmy Morrow’s folk art and how it transformed history and genealogy into sacred practices.
Rev. Jimmy Morrow was a Pentecostal, serpent-handling pastor of the Edwina Church. He is best known for his unique portrayal of folk art, which decorated the interior of his church.
“Unlike traditional church interiors, which typically feature plain, unadorned walls or biblical paintings set in biblical landscapes, Morrow’s works offered something different,” Adler said.
His paintings depicted the rich artistic world of genealogy, particularly the genealogy of place, practice and relationality. By combining the realms of religion and folk art, Morrow created pieces that not only illustrated stories, but also invited viewers to “think genealogically, to see how stories, places and people remain connected across time.”
The genealogy of place is a common theme seen in many of his works. Through both image and text, his paintings portray the connections of the past, present and future. They encourage viewers to see history as a continuum and to become genealogists themselves.
A specific example of this can be seen through one of his paintings of a church in the region. The painting itself shows the architectural features of a church building in a reverent way. The accompanying text provides details about the church’s origins, transfers of ownership and historical journey. Here, the text takes on a didactic role: resisting the erasure of memory, time and history, something Adler emphasized as central to Morrow’s vision.
The genealogy of practice is another key element. Many of his paintings emphasize and showcase the development of serpent handling, a defining tradition of his church. One notable work shows George Hensley, a pioneering serpent handler, surrounded by other practitioners, including two women.
“By including women among the earliest handlers, Morrow challenged conventional narratives and offered an alternative origin story of the practice,” Adler said.
In another painting, serpent handlers are compared to Christian martyrs persecuted for their faith, with one piece even drawing parallels between the Boston martyrs and the legal persecution faced by serpent handlers in Appalachia.
The final theme is the genealogy of relationality. These works emphasize not only literal family ties, but also connections between humans, animals and the natural world. Morrow’s art alludes to the idea that human life, death, and spiritual experience are inseparably intertwined with the surrounding landscape. Adler described this dimension as one that broadens genealogy beyond bloodlines to encompass the living world itself.
Rev. Jimmy Morrow’s colorful and narrative-rich art impactfully blended religious imagery with regional history, war memories and Appalachian folklore. The Reece Museum’s exhibitions and programs continue to explore and celebrate how Morrow and other Appalachian artists preserve and honor religious memory and identity through art.
For more information, visit etsu.edu/cas/cass/reece/exhibitions/current.
