BBQ Joints and the Good Folks Who Own Them
Contributed by McKissick Museum

David Gelin captured the people who serve BBQ in his book BBQ Joints: Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbecue Belt. Above are Bubba's, Buck's, and George Archibald, examples of the photographs on exhibit at McKissick Museum.

Whether it is drizzled with mustard, smothered in barbecue sauce, or soaked in vinegar, barbecue is a Southern tradition.

USC's McKissick Museum will celebrate this culinary favorite with the exhibition, "Barbecue Joints & The Good Folks Who Own Them," May 10 through July 19.

The exhibit is drawn from the companion book,

BBQ Joints: Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbecue

Belt

, by author and photographer David Gelin. Gelin traveled thousands of miles from the Carolinas to Texas studying the cultural and traditional significance of barbecue.

The exhibit will feature more than 40 original photographs, some in black and white and others in color, documenting Gelin's journey. The images and text take visitors on a visual journey through the heart of barbecue country. Barbecue is about more than sustenance. These barbecue traditions are steeped in family and occupational lore.

"Gelin's work is not a celebration of barbecue alone; his work reaches much deeper. His photography communicates the intimacy and passion shared by the people keeping these traditions vibrant and relevant," said Saddler Taylor, curator of folk life at McKissick.

The museum also will host a reception and gallery talk with Gelin from 5:30 to 7:30 on Friday, June 13.

George Archibald, one of the owners of a BBQ joint photographed by David Geline David Gelin, author of BBQ Joints: Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbecue Belt, with Buddy, his four- legged companion. Gelin's photographs will be on display at McKissick Museum through July 19.