1. In reading Deborah Willis' book, I was able to see some definite similarities between Keita's photographer/sitter relationships and photographer/sitter relationships of some of the late 19th century African American photographers. One of the first similarities I noted was the variety of backgrounds that the sitters had.Willis states, "What is significant about this late-nineteenth-century period is that the clientele of African-American photographers reflected the diversity of the large community" (15). This sentence really reminded me of Keita, who had people from all different social classes and professions as a part of his clientele base. In the book, it is also stated that photographers like Lion, Ball, Washington, and Shepherd allowed their clients to collaborate with them in "defining their own image". For me, this is reminiscent of Keita's tendency to photograph his subjects with their most valued possessions, allowing them to portray a certain kind of image for themselves.
2. The early to mid 1900s was the home of the "New Negro" photographers. What these photographers were creating was political art. As it is described in the book, African Americans were being mocked in advertisements, postcards, etc. as they were portrayed as caricatures. As more and more African Americans migrated north, they started to reinvent themselves, combining southern and northern black cultural aspects to create the "New Negro" culture. Photographers captured this movement (such as: C.M. Battey, Arthur P. Bedou, Villard Paddio, etc.) in order to challenge the stereotypes that were being perpetuated about them. This is similar to Keita's use of European clothing and poses. Rather than feed in to the "barbaric" stereotype fed to the masses by the dominant culture, he gave them something entirely different.
3. I think that bell hooks is absolutely right to cite the camera as a powerful tool for the black community. When the dominant culture is constantly placing emphasis on negative stereotypes and making African Americans appear to be something that they aren't. they have to find a way to fight back. What better way to do that than by showcasing the truth? A camera allows the photographers of the black community to capture moments of every day life and publish them for the world to see in a raw and honest way that works towards disproving the misrepresentation that has been placed upon African Americans by the dominant culture.
4. One of the most common "genres" that I found in the photographs from the 1930s-1940s is the "role model" genre. Some photos I found that seem to emanate that genre are Allen E. Cole's "Home of Mrs. H.H. Sink" (93) and Scurlock Studios' "Portrait of Mary McLeod Bethune" (94). As it is defined in the book, the "role model" genre includes "the polished professional" that is used to "counter the effect" of many of the other stereotypes placed on African Americans during the time period (89). Another genre I noticed being represented frequently is that of the "colorful black". These are photos of musicians, writers, politicians and political rallies, etc. Morgan and Marvin Smith were popular photographers of this time period (during the Harlem Renaissance) and their work definitely seems to capture what is seen as the "colorful black". They have a photograph of Ella Fitzgerald performing with Chick Webb and his orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom that speaks to the performing arts side of the genre (100). They also have photographs like the one they took of the Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr,, leading a protest in Harlem, which speaks more to the political side of this specific genre. Outside of Morgan and Marvin Smith, there were other photographers working to capture the "colorful black". A specific photograph that I personally enjoyed is Robert H. McNeill's "Members of the National Association of Colored Women march outside the White House to protest a lynching in Georgia" (96). This definitely falls under the political aspect of the genre and I feel as though it captures a side of the culture that is important to see and feel as well. As far as the correlation between these specific genres in African American photography and African photography, I can definitely see the "role model" genre popping up in some of Keita's work from Africa. As discussed previously, sitters were often times placed in very European styled poses or clothing which would fall in line with what the dominant culture of America would see as a "model citizen". I definitely believe that some of these genres still exist in modern day society. What immediately comes to mind for me is that photographs that were taken of the Black Lives Matter protests as well as photographs taken of in Ferguson during the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting. These pictures could be compared to that of Robert H. McNeill's or the Smith brothers' in that they are just as political and they are still carrying a very similar message.
5. Willis states in her book, "...now more than ever before, the photographer has become the narrator as well as the image maker" (194). The discussion that precedes this quotation is about how photographers in today's day and age are responding to issues outside the immediate realm of photography. They are using their talents to interact with many of the societal issues that are dealt with on a daily basis: everything from political and cultural issues to familial issues. I think that because photographers are allowing their art to become publicly involved with these kinds of injustices, they are essentially becoming a factor within those injustices. By giving the public a piece of photography that makes them think critically about a specific issue at hand, they are in a sense playing a role in the story that is unfolding around them, the way that society chooses to deal with that specific issue. I am sure there are other ways to interpret the quotation just as there are other ways to interpret the photographs, but that is one of the things that I was able to get from Willis' statement.
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