Other side of the lens
#CaptionedBlackArt | Thursdaysº
Captioned Black Art
Your Curated Art Museum
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“And fantasy it was, for we were not strong, only aggressive, we were not free, merely licensed; we were not compassionate, we were polite; not good, but well behaved. We courted death in order to call ourselves brave, and hid like thieves from life.”
— Toni Morrison
A Snippet:
Did you know that Toni Morrison, born and raised in Ohio, was a Black Catholic and that her pen name, “Toni” wasn’t the author’s real name (it was Chloe)?
Learn more . . .
190. “Some People Have Spiritual Eyes”
“It’s important to remember, too, that access to photographic equipment was limited, and those on the other side of the lens were often not in a position to answer back with their own images.”
— Ayana V. Jackson
Did you know?
Did you know that many works by Ayana V. Jackson are inspired by the myth of Drexcyia, an imagined underwater kingdom populated by the children of pregnant women who had been thrown overboard or jumped from ships into the ocean during the transatlantic slave trade?
In fact, Ayana V. Jackson’s work examines, “The role of the camera in constructing identity,” and her unique art asks viewers to reckon with the brutal history that cast humans to the sea while simultaneously envisioning a world of powerful and resilient people.
Born in the United States, based between Johannesburg, New York, and Paris, Jackson’s work can be found in the collections of the Studio Museum in Harlem, New Jersey’s Newark Museum, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Photography, The Blachere Foundation in France, Princeton University, The University of South Africa (UNISA), Morocco’s Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden in Marrakech, along with varied corporate collections including JP Morgan and Lucent Technologies.
191. “In My Feels”
“Sometimes I paint, and the painting itself, it sort of gives me direction as to what it ultimately becomes, and what message it ultimately gives out to the world.”
— Thabiso Dakamela
Did you know?
Did you know that amidst today's toils and troubles, Thabiso Dakamela portrays positivity through his subject matter: women and children – two vulnerable social groups whose quest for gender equality has taken centre stage in his work in recent years?
Born in 1994, Thabiso Dakamela was raised in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Inspired by those living and working in the inner city, Dakamela’s art reflects their sensibilities. A sharp observer and social commentator with an amazing gift of being able to analyze his immediate surroundings, Thabiso Dakamela is drawn to expressions of joy and optimism in everyday life.
192. “Three Figures” (1947)
“My best paintings have a sense of mystery, a wonderment about them.”
— Felrath Hines
Did you know?
Did you know that Felrath Hines’s friend and fellow artist Romare Bearden invited him to join as a founding member of Spiral, a group of African American visual artists who initially met in response to the civil rights movement in the early 1960s, attended the March on Washington, and later, mounted their first and only group exhibition at their Christopher Street studio in 1965?
Felrath Hines studied design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., and his paintings—in the tradition of the De Stijl movement—often contain strong design elements.
Convinced that there was not styles or subjects that could be categorized as exclusively ‘Black art,’ Hines’s art was more abstract in nature.
During the 1960s, at the 28th Street apartment of acquaintance Frank Neal, Felrath Hines met such luminaries as James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Charles Sebree, and Billy Strayhorn. These men gathered and discussed creative and social issues, as well as their careers and place in a white-dominated world.
In addition to his work as an artist, Hines became known for his impeccable conservation work, allowing him to open his own private conservation practice in 1964. His client list included the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Miss Georgia O'Keeffe, who became a loyal friend.
Empathy is much more than a shared experience
(Breathe In . . . Breathe Out)
Other side of the lens
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