John Edmonds Highlights the Art of Black Beauty

Discussion in 'LGBT News and Events' started by Winston Smith, Jun 8, 2018.

  1. Winston Smith

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    Edmonds, who holds a MFA in photography at Yale's School of Art, presented a series called "Hoods" in 2016, and last year, another untitled series featuring do-rags. Both series depicted people who were presumably Black men (their identities cleverly and strikingly obscured by hoods and do-rags, and the fact that backs of their heads were thus not visible). As such, they stood in as literal figureheads for discussions around toxic masculinity, racial bias, and what we think about when we talk about blackness in society, especially in light of movements such as Black Lives Matter and debates around police brutality, who gets criminalized, and who gets a pass (no one Black gets a pass). In other words, to paraphrase an old adage, there is always more present with Black art than meets the eye.

    Having only seen those works as a Black queer person, and having not met Edmonds, a Black queer person, I only had my experiences to go on. I thought that my own bias made me less privy to misrepresentation of Edmonds' work, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn I was wrong. Rather than focusing on Black masculinity, and whether or not it is problematic, Black beauty actually plays a much more important role in Edmonds' work, as I saw up close when I met him at ltd to discuss "Tribe." He collaborates mostly with queer artists, some are nonbinary, and all represent facets of blackness not often captured on camera. Ihab, Khari, Ladin, Milton, Brittany, Alex, Tom, Victor, and Justin comprise a range of identities and experiences with a story to tell in each photo. Their aesthetic versatility, framed by Edmonds' use of glowing natural light and warmth invite the viewer to experience an almost feminine softness.

    One of the works in "Tribe," Face As Mask II, Brittany is shown cradling her face, accented by dyed-blonde waves, created by Black hairstylist (and former Edmonds muse) Malcolm Cuthbert. In the portrait, Brittany's face seems almost detached from the body. "There is fluidity always, to how the body can be used," Edmonds says. "And to me, the waves in her hair give the photo overall a mermaid-like, aqueous quality. It's a deeply subjective thing, but it's how I see it."


    Complete article link below:
    John Edmonds Highlights the Art of Black Beauty
     
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