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diamondlovestoshine · 3 years

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Dawoud Bey, Betty Selvage and Faith Speights, Birmingham, AL, from The Birmingham Project, 2012. Pigmented inkjet prints, 40 × 32 in. each (101.6 × 81.3 cm each). Rennie Collection, Vancouver. © Dawoud Bey

Dawoud Bey, Two Girls at Lady D's, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., c. 1976. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm); 16 3/8 × 20 5/8 × 1 1/2 in. frame. Collection of the artist; courtesy the artist and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey. Image courtesy the artist and Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago

Dawoud Bey’s work, “ An American project,” located at the Whitney Museum of Art on 99 Gansevoort st New York, Ny 10014. Traces across the forty-five years of Bey’s career and his profound engagement with young Black people and African American history. Consisting of 44 photographs and 8 projects within the Exhibition.I have seen that he is deeply committed to the craft of photography, drawing on the medium's specific tools, processes, and materials to amplify the formal, aesthetic, and conceptual goals of each body of work. Bey views photography not only as a form of personal expression but as an act of political responsibility, asserting the necessary and ongoing work of artists and institutions to break down obstacles to access, convene communities, and open dialogues. Dawoud Bey was born in 1953 in Queens Ny, In succeeding decades and successive bodies of work, Bey has moved from working in the streets with a small, hand-held 35mm camera to creating more formally structured portraits using a tripod mounted 4 x 5 camera and the monumental 20 x 24 Polaroid view camera. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University School of Art and is currently Professor of Art and a former Distinguished College Artist at Columbia College Chicago. In 2017 Bey was awarded the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship. He is also the recipient of fellowships from United States Artists, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, amongst other honors.His work has been included in important solo and group exhibitions worldwide and is included in the permanent collections of the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, and many more.

The images I have chosen both have great meaning and history and emotion behind them, they both made me feel proud of my culture and think about the past events that occurred in African American History. The first image is of Betty Selvage and Faith Speights in the Birmingham series, this image attracted me because of the deep meaning behind it. In 1963 the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama killing four African American girls and boys. The way this picture is set up is that a younger person around the age of the younger people that was killed on one side and the other side represents the age they would actually be if they were still alive which is the older person on the other side. I admire the thought behind this picture and the honor he wanted to show when creating this piece. I also like how the photo is in black and white because it captures all the beauty and emotion through their facial expression without color so there’s nothing to distract you with other than the raw emotion that you feel from the two girls. The way the young girl and the women are sitting the same way and looking at the camera I think is brilliant because it makes you think they are the same person just grown up which is the idea that Bey was essentially trying to give and he was successful. The next image that I found interest in was Two Girls at Lady D’s Harlem Ny in the Harlem series. This photo made me think of when I was a little girl and seeing those little girls standing outside of the ice cream shop brought back all the innocence and fun that I had growing up. When I look at this picture I notice the 85 cents on the window and it says lunch , it's such a massive difference compared to the world now I want to almost jump into this photograph to see how Harlem was in 1975. I love that Bey is showing off the community that these two Black girls are in and the black and white colors again show the pureness of these little girls. Both of these images display life in Black communities and capture the events that were going on during that time.

Dawoud Bey’s overall message is shining the light on race,place and visibility in American History. Bey explores photographs potential to reveal communities that may be unseen or even unrepresented because of their race or gender. He calls it, “a form of personal expression and an act of political responsibility,” Bey’s art assert’s on the power of photography to transform stereotypes, convene communities, and create dialogue. Each of his series all come together to make up the American project, each of them tell a different story and show a different side of cultures and history. That's what I love the most about his artwork. They have true meaning and such power. Bey has been awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada in 2002, he is talked about highly in the New York Times and is quoted to have, “ powerful photographs of African Americans.” I hope to review more of Dawoud Bey’s work as it is truly phenomenal and powerful.

Extra Credit : Dawoud Bey at The Whitney Museum of Art

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diamondlovestoshine · 3 years

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Mini Research Paper

Colored People Grid Portfolio by Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Weems Number 9 (1989-1990)

Carrie Mae Weems Number 10 (1989-1990)

Mini Research Paper

From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried Portfolio by Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Weems Number 13 (1995–1996)

Carrie Mae Weems Number 22 (1995–1996)

Carrie Mae Weems was born in 1953 in Portland Oregon, Carrie later became an American photographer in 1978. She is known for creating installations that combine photography, audio, and text to examine many contemporary American life facets. She worked in a variety of media and expanded her practice to include community outreach. Weems was influenced by earlier African American photographers who documented the Black experience; as her work developed, Weems became more explicitly political, continuing to explore themes of racism and the African American experience. The following are two bodies of work that spoke to me on a divergent level-From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried (1995–1996) and Colored People Grid (1989–1990).

From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, and Colored People Grid are both two amazing bodies of work. Both of these pieces of work are very similar but different in numerous ways. These two pieces of artwork represent African American people and their struggle throughout the years but yet want the audience to capture their beauty and grace at the same time. Both Bodies of work are very vibrant with color, and the message behind them being the focus of African American people's hardship and emotion. However, some of the techniques Weem's used for From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried and Colored People Grid are slightly different. Carrie's technique for Colored People Grid was the advantage of the reflection of the sun off the model's skin, which created a glow in their face in some of the pictures; she also incorporated using shadows and blur images. On the other hand, From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, she uses words in her pictures to give a bit more understanding, and all of the images are red printed in circular mattes. Both of these pieces of work are outstanding and make me feel connected to my ancestors, and it makes me feel heard being an African American Woman in our society today.

The first Body of work created by Carrie Mae Weems that captured my interest was From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, published in (1995–1996). These photos display the catastrophic times of slavery in the South in the 19th and 20th centuries; Joseph T. Zealy took them in 1850 to support the racist theories about the inferiority of Black People; thus, Weem's elevated them into something more profounding. The choice of color with the words had such a deeper meaning to what they appear; Weems stated, "I'm trying to heighten a kind of critical awareness around how these photographs were intended." Weem hopes her strategy "gives the subject another level of humanity and another level of dignity that was originally missing in the photograph." Looking at these photographs, Weem's wanted us to see how "White American's" relationship to Black people were, as she states, "we're looking at the ways in which Anglo America—white America—saw itself in relationship to the Black subject." Weem's choice of adding text to the picture was a way to shine the light on the historical injustices that African Americans faced. She wanted to "give a voice to a subject that historically had no voice." I loved this Body of work; the choice of red adds a feeling of pain and anger, how the pictures are framed in circular mattes to suggest a camera lens. I thought it was brilliant to turn these photographs that seem so similar but tell different stories around. I also loved how the Body of work was constructed as a timeline making the women who says, "from here I saw what happened," looking at all the events, and at the end, she was there and said, "and I cried," I thought that was a brilliant concept.

The Second Body of work that I found scintillating was Colored People Grid, published in (1989-1990). She composed tinted portraits of African American youths in their everyday lives as a means of parodying the simplistic construct of implementing a color term to any human being, no one of whom is white or black. Weems photographed her models at a range of ages, as she describes, "when issues of race really begin to affect you, at the point of an innocence beginning to be disrupted." Uses of the term colored to describe people go back to the 19th century. Weem's explored these terms by adding labels to each group of images, such as "Blue Black Boy" and "Golden Yella Girl." The Colored People Grid series Probe's the beauty found in the range of skin colors enclosed within the term black while also critiquing the hierarchy of social values assigned to skin tones within the African American community itself. I admire The beautiful overlapping tones of yellow, burnt orange, magenta, brown, blue, and purple. The brightness and shadows of the pictures add to the simplicity and beauty of the raw emotions that these youth kids are portraying.

One particular photograph from From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, that I thought touched me the most was the 13th PicturePicture which stated, "BLACK AND TANNED YOUR WHIPPED WIND OF CHANGE HOWLED LOW BLOWING ITSELF - HA - SMACK INTO THE MIDDLE OF ELLINGTON'S ORCHESTRA BILLIE HEARD IT TOO & CRIED STRANGE FRUIT TEARS," This picture makes me feel devastated for what African Americans had to go through, and the text in the picture has such a deep meaning of the abuse that Black people went through, having their brethren cry for the suffering that they endured is mournful, and the way the red makes the scars on his back pop out makes me even feel more upset because it's in the center giving me no choice but to pay attention to it. Another Photograph that stood out to me was number 22 that states, "YOU BECAME THE JOKER'S JOKE," with 3 African American Women sitting down in front of white people, and their lips were stretched out. This photograph makes me feel enraged as to how a human being with morals and a functional conscience forces another human being, regardless of skin color, to cause such uncomfort and pain. Even though this photo makes me irritable, I like it because it shows society how African Americans were treated with such cruel and unjust actions. I believe Weem wanted to dig into people's feelings and get them to understand the pain and unjust history that Black people went through and still go through.

The 9th and 10th pictures of Colored People Grid struck me with the reality of this is precisely what young Black kids feel every day. The 9th photograph shows a young girl who is sitting down outside her doorstep. The color and the shadows used in this picture give me a sense of sadness, and I couldn't help think of what the little girl was thinking about. When I look at this picture, it makes me think about all the little girls who have lost their fathers due to Police brutality. Kids should just be kids and not have to worry about being stereotyped because of their skin. However, they can't due to the ongoing hate in society, which I think Weem's was trying to reveal. The 10th picture captures a young Black boy who looks frightened, which makes me feel that he is frightened because he fears being targeted. I love how the color of the brown and the glimpse of the light help capture his emotions. This picture says a thousand words just by looking at it and knowing what society is like today.

Carrie Mae Weem is one of the most magnificent photographers that I have come across personally. Her work is splendid, showcasing the beauty, pain, and story of African American people and turning it into her own. "Her work speaks to human experience and of the multiple aspects of individual identity, arriving at a deeper understanding of humanity." Mary Jane Jacobs, "Ritual and Revolution" Weem's is a highly spoken of artist, and I genuinely wish to see more beautiful pieces by her if she wishes to continue photographing.

Work Cited

bodninson, sara. “MoMA Learning.” MoMA, 2010, www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/carrie-mae-weems-from-here-i-saw-what-happened-and-i-cried-1995/.

Weems, Carrie Mae. “Carrie Mae Weems. From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried. 1995-96: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, 2020, www.moma.org/collection/works/45579.

Designed and developed by Lisa Goodlin Design, carrie. “Carrie Mae Weems.” Carrie Mae Weems : Colored People, 1989-1990, 2020, carriemaeweems.net/galleries/colored-people.html.

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diamondlovestoshine · 3 years

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Cotton Reading Response

Incensing work July 30,2020 Azim Khan Ronnie

The photographer that I chose was Azim Khan Ronnie,I chose this piece of artwork because I feel like it spoke to me, all the beautiful colors, the pink orange and blue are so loud and vibrant. It looks to me that the two women may be planting something or they might just be fans. I did a little research and found that it was Vietnamese workers sitting surrounded by thousands of incense sticks in Quang Phu Can,where the sticks have been traditionally made for hundreds of years. Incense plays an important role in the spiritual lives of Vietnamese people. People use incense in all worship activities. The bamboo bundles are arranged on the ground on sunny days so as to dry them. To make the incense sticks the bamboo is first split in two, cleaned and dusted and then a third of the stick is col.

I really admire Azim Khan Ronnie’s work because he takes real world things and catches them in a moment where they are beautiful and creates a powerful image. Most of his artwork shows people in their countries doing their everyday things, like worshiping, finding food, planting and other things as well.I loved all of them because they all told their own story but this one when I looked at it made me feel like I was in a beautiful field that I could run through for miles and never want to look back.

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diamondlovestoshine · 4 years

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NYC TRAVELING LIFE

These pictures represent a narrative project, in these photos I was traveling through new york city from New Jersey to Harlem. I love new york city especially at night there’s bright lights and beautiful scenery. New york city can seem overwhelming to most but it's so refreshing to see all the diversity within the people and the different ways of transportation. In a way for me when I travel through new york city with some good music its a type of stress reliever for me and it really allows me to think about life or the things i'm going through. I love to go to Harlem because that’s where my mom lives and it's filled with so much culture and different foods, music and art. I love to be here.

Documentary/ Narrative Project 3/26

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diamondlovestoshine · 4 years

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John Henry's work 'Stranger Fruit' is kept at the Blue Skye Gallery on 122 NW 8th Ave Portland. There are 16 outstanding photos taken by Henry. I have seen a bold statement and genuine emotions behind the people he's captured in every picture. Jon Henry is a visual artist working with photography and text, from Queens, NY, now residing in Brooklyn. His work reflects on family, socio-political issues, grief, trauma, and healing within the African American community. His work has been published nationally and internationally and exhibited in numerous galleries, including Aperture Foundation, Smack Mellon, and BRIC. Known foremost for cultural activism in his work, his projects include studies of athletes from different sports and their representations. He was recently awarded the Arnold Newman Grant for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture and a 2020 En Foco Fellowship. Henry was named one of LensCulture's Emerging Artists for 2019 and won the Film Photo Prize for Continuing Film Project sponsored by Kodak.

Both of these images have compelling meanings; #19 caught my attention because it was so loud, meaning just the black lady sitting down with what it portrays to be her son pretending to be wounded in the middle of the city speaks a thousand words. I admire how the world is moving behind them, but you're forced to focus on them. I love the lighting, and the flower bead they used to sit on adds texture to the photo. Another photo I am interested in #49. This photo is compelling because of the setting, being in front of the Whitehouse and trying to portray the message of a black man being murdered. Going back into history, black people built the white house, so the correlation is innovative. Both photos are well composition to be in the middle of the city, and sitting at an angle where the white house is directly behind you makes the message more powerful. The colors used in both pictures are very vibrant, and the background for picture#49 gives off a blurred look making the mother and son the focus.

John Henry's overall message responds to the senseless murders of black men across the nation by police violence. Even with phones and cameras recording the actions, more lives get cut short due to unnecessary and excessive violence. Nobody knows who will be; next, john states, "The mothers in the photographs have not lost their sons, but understand the reality, that this could happen to their family. The mother is also photographed in isolation, reflecting on the absence. When the trials are over, the protesters have gone home, and the news cameras are gone, it is the mother left. Left to mourn, to survive." These photos are showing what these mothers who are victimized by these situations are left with. John Henry is a fantastic photographer, I love his pieces, and I look forward to seeing what other work he will put out. Not many black photographers try to capture these feelings and pain that our community goes through; making sure the world can see it is crucial.

Exhibition review (3/5/21)

John Henry #19 John Henry #46

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