Benton mementos from documentary filming donated to City
July 8, 2010
KODE-TV officials held a Press Conference today to present the City of Joplin with significant items related to the Thomas Hart Benton mural that hangs in the main lobby of City Hall. The artifacts are from the estate of long-time Joplin journalist Bob Phillips.
As a journalist, Phillips worked at KODE-TV for a number of years producing over 500 in-depth segments of the “Phillips File” focusing on local people and history, as well as several documentaries before retiring in 2000 from his broadcast reporting career. He died earlier this year.
In 1972, Phillips teamed up with Karl Lee, a photographer and co-worker at KODE, to produce the documentary, “Thomas Hart Benton – The Last Mural.” Its focus was on the life of Benton and how he was enticed out of retirement to paint “Joplin at the Turn of the Century”, his last big masterpiece. The program also shows rare glimpses of Benton’s process in researching and detailing the scenes depicted in the mural relating to the early 1900s in Joplin. The mural was dedicated in March 1973 to recognize the City’s Centennial Celebration.
Phillips kept some of the items he acquired during the project, including three which are being donated to the City and will be added to the “Making of the Mural” exhibit found on the Mezzanine of City Hall. The items include a letter from Benton signed to Phillips, a first-issue postcard, and a signed black and white photograph of Benton in his studio. It is also autographed by Benton and signed to Phillips.
In addition to this donation, KODE will re-air the documentary at 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, to pay tribute to both Phillips and Benton.
Larry Meacham, Phillips’ former News Director at KODE, recognized the significance of both men’s talent at that time as well as today, noting that they were “masters of their work.”
“There have been at least two generations who have not seen this unique documentary, which some have claimed to be Benton’s last official interview,” said Meacham. “Citizens of Joplin, historians, artists, friends and students of the arts, will all benefit from watching ‘The Last Mural’ that captures the essence of this inspiring artist and his gift that Joplin was so fortunate to receive.”
The nearly hour long program shows various interviews Phillips conducted with the artist. During one of these, Benton describes how he ultimately became an artist from his early years as a young man in Joplin.
Phillips was a perfectionist, according to Meacham, and many in the community recognized the quality of work he would provide during his in-depth segments.
The Last Mural was originally shot and mastered on film. It was later dubbed to two-inch video tape. This master tape was discovered among Phillips’ belongs shortly after his death. Due to current limitations in the broadcast industry, the two-inch tape was re-mastered to a digital format for today’s technology.
For more information about the documentary, contact Darin McCann, a former co-worker of Phillips, and a current employee of KODE-TV. He can be reached at 417-781-2345. Citizens can view the Benton mural and the “Making of the Mural” exhibit at Joplin City Hall, 602 South Main, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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