Published on the occasion of the exhibition What Matters Most: Photographs of Black Life from the Fade Resistance Collection, organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario from August 27, 2022 to January 8, 2023. Includes bibliographical references.
Contents:
A Whole Mess and a Half: The Matter of Most / Zun Lee -- Black Aliveness in Flight / Dawn Lundy Martin -- Fade of the Black Family Photograph / Stefano Harney & Fred Moten -- What outlasts / Sophie Hackett -- A Whole Mess and a Half: The Matter of Most / Zun Lee -- List of works.
Summary:
"Thoughtfully illustrated, this volume highlights a selection of photographs of African American family life between the 1970s and the early 2000s--pictures that were lost by their original owners and then found by the artist Zun Lee on a street in Detroit in 2012, marking the beginning of the Fade Resistance collection of more than 4,000 Polaroids. Lee describes the collection as an important record of Black visual self-representation and a means to "reflect the way Black people saw themselves on their terms--without the intention of being seen, or judged, by others." To Lee, these powerful photographs are an expression of "Black life mattering." These vivid images chronicle milestones such as weddings, birthdays and graduations, as well as quiet daily moments, offering contemporary views long ignored or erased by mainstream culture. Together, these works highlight the role snapshots have played in Black life, as tools to challenge stereotypical portrayals and as a means to memorialize family, culture and heritage. Topics such as self-representation, visual history and the social power of photographs are addressed in critical texts by Sophie Hackett, Stefano Harney, Zun Lee and Fred Moten, and an original contribution by celebrated poet Dawn Lundy Martin."-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.