History & Criticism - General & Miscellaneous Photography, African Americans - General & Miscellaneous, 20th Century Photography - General & Miscellaneous, African American Art, Peoples & Nationalities in Art

Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present

Name: Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present
Author: Deborah Willis
ISBN: 9780393322804

by Deborah Willis, Robin D. G. Kelley

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Overview

Reflections in Black, the first comprehensive history of black photographers, is a groundbreaking pictorial collection of African American life. Featuring the work of undisputed masters such as James VanDerZee, Gordon Parks, and Carrie Mae Weems among dozens of others, this book is a refutation of the gross caricature of black life that many mainstream photographers have manifested by continually emphasizing poverty over family, despair over hope. Nearly 600 images offer rich, moving glimpses of everyday black life, from slavery to the Great Migration to contemporary suburban life, including rare antebellum daguerrotypes, photojournalism of the civil rights era, and multimedia portraits of middle-class families. A work so significant that it has the power to reconfigure our conception of American history itself, Reflections in Black demands to be included in every American family's library as an essential part of our heritage. A Los Angeles Times and Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2000, and a Good Morning, America best gift book of 2000.

Synopsis

"[N]othing less than an epic of Homeric proportions....Willis's magnificent gathering of images...rewrites American history."—Robin D. G. Kelley

Robin D. G. Kelley

[N]othing less than an epic of Homeric proportions....Willis's magnificent gathering of images...rewrites American history.

About the Author, Deborah Willis

Deborah Willis, a MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Fletcher Fellow, is the author of Reflections in Black, Posing Beauty, Michelle Obama: The First Lady in Photographs, and the New York Times bestseller Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs. She is chair of the photography department and a University Professor at New York University.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

In the 19th century, early black photographers fought against racist stereotypes by positively representing their communities through portraits and images of free blacks. Later, in the 20th century, black photographers documented all aspects of African-American life, from the glory of the Harlem Renaissance to the injustice that sparked the civil rights movement. Now comes Reflections in Black, a stunning collection of nearly 600 photographs that traces the history of black photographers from the mid-1800s to the present.

Barbara Summers

Take the time to examine these faces. Make the time to treasure this book. —BET.com

Robin D. G. Kelley

[N]othing less than an epic of Homeric proportions....Willis's magnificent gathering of images...rewrites American history.

Library Journal

Willis (curator, Smithsonian s Center for African American History and Culture) continues enlightening the public about visual representations of African American experiences, work that just won her a MacArthur genius grant. This catalog of a Smithsonian exhibit that will tour America starting this summer should be read in conjunction with her other books on the subject: Black Photographers, 1840 1940: An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography (New Pr., 1992), VanDerZee, Photographer, 1886 1983 (LJ 11/15/93), and Picturing Us: African American Identity in Photography (LJ 12/94). In this more comprehensive book, Willis alternates chronological sections of photographs with essays that discuss the individual photographers and the scope of their work. They range from men and women who operated photography studios and made dignified portraits of the people in their communities, to photojournalists documenting social change, to contemporary artists making creative statements with digital montage techniques. This book certainly should be selected for African American or photography collections, but it could alternatively be put in general American history or social history. Anne Marie Lane, Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

From The Critics

This history of black photographers covers 1840 to modern times, presenting a wide-ranging set of images and social and artistic observations which should intrigue a diverse audience, from artists to those interested in black history. Black and white images accompany in-depth text coverage of the artists and their times in this first comprehensive history of black photographers.