Author: Nicole Biggs (Page 4 of 4)

Dawoud Bey started as a street photographer capturing life in the 1970’s in harlem.He showed how black were portrayed through art and in popular culture.He wanted his images to showcase a deeper meaning as if one could see the soul of African Americans.“Night Coming Tenderly, Black” is one of Bey exhibitions at the art institute which shows the history of the underground railroad. The photographs that were shown were to give a glimpse through the eyes of the  runaway slaves in the 1800s.When looking at the images there are no human silhouettes shown through the dark and gloomy images.He wanted people to see and feel how it figurative slaves had to navigate in the night. As Dawoud Bey said “Making the invisible, visible”.He wanted to remind people that no matter what time period there are people are still trying to get to their version of freedom.Both of Dawoud Bey projects had strong meaning but the one the stood out to me more was the 1963 Bombing of the 16th street baptist church in alabama. ”The Birmingham Project” Exhibition paired  pictures of children of the same age of the victims and the others of adults to show victims if they were alive today.Dawoud Bey portraits gave me chills because when anyone bring up slavery it can change anyone emotions drastically but Bey made me smile because as i looked at the photographs it made me want to look back at the kids and images how i would see them today. Dawoud Bey projects make you really feel what he is saying through his photographs, that is his voice.Because of Bey hearing loss the camera became an extension of his eyes and even his voice. Art gives a person an experience they never had before.

Carrie Mae Weems uses photography as a voice for women and to show the living arrangement between both men and women.She wanted people to see that  women hold the keys to generations and men to power.Her kitchen table project was done in her own kitchen, to her it was something she can do in her own space that she chose to do.It was to show the conflicts that arose within a family household it was basically a Battle between the sexes all done in Black and white.The kitchen table project had many photographs but the one that 

caught my eyes with her face down in her knees with a bottle of what looks like wine  ,a wine glass and an ashtray on the table. I like this image because it shows pain and not any kind of pain but pain that no one can help you through, the pain that you have to get through by yourself in a shared house. The images show a woman taking a moment to gather her thoughts because everyone looks up to her, she is supposed to be strong as Carrie Mae Weems said women hold the keys to the generation.

Both have similar techniques, they both wanna have a deeper meaning by showing what is going on inside a person rather than outer appearances, they both show pain. Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems  both photograph in balck and white but are slightly different in that one captures what’s going on outside and the other captures what’s going on inside the four walls.