Dawoud Bey is an American photographer who has an eclectic choice in photography. He captures eventful memories which he later incorporate them into projects highlighting their significance. Dawoud intends to portray his images in a way that his audience is actually living through whats being captured as if they time traveled to where it took place. He enjoys capturing locations that are relatively connected to people in the area or the neighborhood showing its sentimental value to their lives. One thing I noticed in Dawoud images that are eye catching is, each picture or portrait he takes carries deep emotions and character. He interestingly shows that a picture is creating an invisible dialogue with its viewer. This technique is evident through his collection of The Underground Railroad site. His ideology of conveying imitations as a slave traveling through the confidential route which project what a slave would have seen trying to escape to freedom. Dawoud describes this technique as “Making the invisible, visible”. One of these images I would like to discuss specifically is the unidentified landscape that led the unground railroad. This photograph entails a gloomy setting of dark woods. However, there is no sight of direction which makes the area look intricate because there are no caved paths or any sight of road. This photo also gave me a feeling of “anxiety” because I imagined myself being there and not knowing whether I am going the right way. All in all, Dawoud enacted the the trials and tribulations of what a slave endured while trying to escape. He did this successfully without actually adding people to the photo. By so, He scrupulously captured the nitty gritty details to deliver a feeling of being present in the photo.
Carrie Mae is a photographer who likes to delineates problematic issues that occur in the families of African American individuals specifically woman. She brings us on a journey through her sequence of whats to be called ” The kitchen table series”. In this collection of photos Carrie Mae shows the hardship of African American woman and roles that they played in their homes. This includes being a single parent, sexism or not getting the affection they deserve from their partner. Mae uses this kitchen table series to broadcast the voices of the unheard woman who continuously struggle by themselves. She wants to show that woman are also as powerful as men and should not be treated as such because they are “woman”. She wants to break the social contract between men and woman that society enforces. Woman having the key to the bedroom and men having the key for power.
In addition, Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae both have similar artistic styles of capturing predominately African American life. These two photographers uses the neighborhood that they live in to display the characteristics and the culture of the people that lived there. It was evident to see the repetition of racism in their photos expressing the complications of being African American. Though their motive behind their projects were different. Yet, they happen to capture similar content that conveyed stereotypes and reputation of those individuals. I Also noticed that their pictures were captured in black and white making it look very historic.
As you state, Bey conveys to us, the feeling of what it would have been like to be running for your life in those dark woods.
And I agree that Weems does not simply want to describe the world of gender relations, she wants to change it.