Tampa Museum of Art’s exhibition showcases prolific Black photographers
TAMPA — An emotional, powerful photographic experience awaits at the Tampa Museum of Art.
Organized by the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the exhibition “Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue” showcases more than 120 photographs, as well as video, from two prolific photographers. Bey and Weems met in 1976 in New York City, when Weems took a photography class Bey was teaching. Since then, the two have maintained a friendship and artistic dialogue. While they work independently, their work addresses common themes of race, class and representation and the experiences of Black Americans.
The exhibit begins with early work from the 1970s and ’80s. Bey’s series “Harlem U.S.A.” explores the neighborhood from the vantage of the street, through black-and-white photographs that employ a dramatic use of light made with a handheld camera. Weems turns her lens on a variety of subjects, including theatrical self-portraits. With the series “Family Pictures and Stories,” Weems documents her family and includes narratives she wrote.
In another section, Weems’ practice of storytelling in her work reaches its pinnacle with “The Kitchen Table Series,” in which Weems poses at a table as a fictional character, surrounded by friends, lovers and family. A text she wrote from the woman’s point of view is heartbreaking and empowering. The photographs are as compelling as the written narrative Weems crafted.
In the 1980s, Bey was shooting Polaroid black-and-white portraits of youth and teens who posed in an urban landscape. Later, he moved into shooting in color with a large Polaroid camera in a studio setting.
Both artists made series exploring Black history in the U.S. Bey photographed sites in Ohio that are believed to have been stops on the Underground Railroad in the series “Night Coming Tenderly, Black.” The pitch-black photos are from the viewpoint of enslaved people as they made their way to Canada, approaching a safe house in the brush.
Weems explores the Gullah culture of the islands off Georgia and the Carolinas with the “Sea Island Series.” And with “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried,” historic images of enslaved women and men are paired with a narrative meant to individualize them and condemn their dehumanization.
Another section sees Bey and Weems address horrific events from the 20th century. Bey’s “The Birmingham Project” is a memorial to the six African American children who were murdered in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the murders. He has made powerful portraits of current residents the same age as those children and people 50 years older, and paired them in diptychs.
Weems re-creates painful images that have become ubiquitous in “Constructing History: A Requiem to Mark the Moment.” They include the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These works seem to be making the point that when images of horror are so widely circulated, they lose their shock value.
With these series, both artists are placing importance on real people and communities and shifting focus away from the media images of the events. Both artists have also made videos on these topics, which play in the gallery. Take the time to watch them, but know that they are powerful and you may need to take a moment to compose yourself after.
The exhibition closes with landscapes. In “Roaming,” Weems is clad in a long black dress and poses at historical sites in Rome, her back to the camera, making a statement about how centuries of power dictate culture. Bey returns to Harlem with the series “Harlem Redux,” making large-scale color photos that capture its gentrification. There are construction sites and empty storefronts and barriers, giving a sense that a place where Black people once thrived no longer welcomes them.
If you go
“Dawoud Bey & Carrie Mae Weems: In Dialogue” is on view through Oct. 23. Dates are subject to change due to construction in the museum. $5-$15, free for children 6 and younger, college students and guests who receive SNAP benefits with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, who may bring three guests. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, except Thursday when hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. 813-274-8130. tampamuseum.org.
