Studio vs. Documentary Photography

Art in the black community has been discussed in a variety of ways, most of which pose the question, "What should black art be?" This is an unfortunately general question that has plagued black artists for centuries. I think that this question displays the central difference between studio and documentary photography in the black community in terms of beauty. 

African studio photography displays beauty in a controlled way. Keita's studio photographs involve preset backgrounds, carefully planned outfits, and composed faces. These photos displayed the beauty of the African race in a way that they wanted it to be seen. This was a type of photography focused more on the physical beauty of the subject. These photos were incredibly important to the African people because it was a way for them to present themselves in a way in which they were not seen as "barbarians" like whites at the time would like to believe they were.

Documentary photography, like the work of of Gordon Parks, presented the idea of beauty in a much more abstract way. Parks' photography displays the subject in a much more "everyday" perspective. While studio photography focuses a lot on the physical beauty of the race, documentary photography focuses more on the beauty of their strength or the moment they are in. Having the subjects unposed and in a very natural element makes this possible. Gordon Parks' documentary photography shows you the struggle of the African or African American people in a way in which the audience is drawn in by the story behind the photo.

So, what type of photography is right? What should the photo tell the viewer? How should the audience react? These are two very different types of photography, showing the beauty of the black race in two very different ways. In her article, Art on my Mind, by Bell Hooks, she states;"As black artists have broken free from imperialist white-supremacist notion of the way art should look and function in society, they have approached representation as a location for contestation." I believe that the documentary photography of Gordon Parks accurately depicts the move of photography content from representative to expressive.