Lauren Kelley (American, b. 1975), Pickin’, 1999, Courtesy of the photographer.
Jeffrey Henson Scales (American, b. 1954), Man in Plaid Pants, Harlem, ca. 1980s, Courtesy of the photographer.
Eve Arnold (American, b. 1913), Arlene Hawkins with Afro puffs, New York City, 1968, Magnum Photos, ARE196812 KXX1 |
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Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive
413-597-2429
Williamstown
Posing Beauty
in African American Culture
September 11-November 21, 2010
Beauty as a subject has been idealized, as well as challenged, throughout the history of Western art and image-making. Posing Beauty explores contemporary understandings of beauty by framing the notion of aesthetics, race, class, and gender within art, popular culture, and political contexts. The images in this exhibition challenge idealized forms of beauty in art by examining their portrayal and exploring a variety of attitudes about race, class, and gender.
The Williams College Museum of Art presents Posing Beauty in African American Culture, an exhibition that explores the contested ways in which African and African American beauty have been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through a diverse array of media including photography, video, fashion, and advertising. On Thursday, October 21, the museum is hosting a discussion about the exhibition with curator Deborah Willis, art historian Robin Kelsey, and artist Carrie Mae Weems. This event takes place at 7:00 pm at the Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall on the Williams College campus.
The first of three thematic sections, Constructing a Pose, considers the interplay between the historical and the contemporary, between self-representation and imposed representation, and the relationship between subject and photographer. The second theme, Body & Image, questions the ways in which our contemporary understanding of beauty has been constructed and framed through the body. The last section, Modeling Beauty & Beauty Contests, invites us to reflect upon the ambiguities of beauty, its impact on mass culture and individuals, and how the display of beauty affects the ways in which we see and interpret the world and ourselves.
Posing Beauty features over 90 works of art drawn from public and private collections and is accompanied by a book published by W.W. Norton. Artists in the exhibition include, among others, Carrie Mae Weems, Charles "Teenie" Harris, Eve Arnold, Gary Winogrand, Sheila Pree Bright, Leonard Freed, Renee Cox, Anthony Barboza, Bruce Davidson, Mickalene Thomas, and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe.
The exhibition was organized by the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, and curated by Deborah Willis, University Professor and Chair of the Department. The touring exhibition is made possible in part by the J. P. Morgan Chase Foundation and Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions. Additional support has been provided by grants from the Tisch School of the Arts Office of the Dean’s Faculty Development Fund, Visual Arts Initiative Award from the NYU Coordinating Council for Visual Arts, and NYU’s Advanced Media Studio.
The Williams College Museum of Art presentation of Posing Beauty is organized by Dalila Scruggs, Mellon Fellow for Diversity in the Arts, and John Stomberg, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, in consultation with Deborah Willis.
Jamel Shabazz (American, b. 1960), Rude Boy, from Back in the Days, 1980, Courtesy of the photographer.
Carrie Mae Weems (American, b. 1953), I Looked and Looked to See What so Terrified You, 2006, Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery |
