the self in black and white Interfaces: Studies in Visual Culture Editors Mark J. Williams and Adrian W. B. Randolph, Dartmouth College This series, sponsored by Dartmouth College Press, develops and promotes the study of visual culture from a variety of critical and methodological perspectives. Its impetus derives from the increasing importance of visual signs in everyday life, and from the rapid expansion of what are termed “new media.” The broad cultural and social dynamics attendant to these developments present new challenges and opportunities across and within the disciplines. These have resulted in a trans-disciplinary fascination with all things visual, from “high” to “low,” and from esoteric to popular. This series brings together approaches to visual cul- ture — broadly conceived — that assess these dynamics critically and that break new ground in understanding their effects and implications. For a complete list of books available in the series, visit www.upne.com Erina Duganne, The Self in Black and White: Race and Subjectivity in Postwar American Photography Eric Gordon, The Urban Spectator: American Concept Cities from Kodak to Google Barbara Larson and Fae Brauer, eds., The Art of Evolution: Darwin, Darwinisms, and Visual Culture Jeffrey Middents, Writing National Cinema: Film Journals and Film Culture in Peru Michael Golec, The Brillo Box Archive: Aesthetics, Design, and Art Rob Kroes, Photographic Memories: Private Pictures, Public Images, and American History Jonathan Beller, The Cinematic Mode of Production: Attention Economy and the Society of the Spectacle Ann B. Shteir and Bernard Lightman, eds., Figuring It Out: Science, Gender, and Visual Culture Anna Munster, Materializing New Media: Body, Image, and Interface in Information Aesthetics Luc Pauwels, ed., Visual Cultures of Science: Rethinking Representational Practices in Knowledge Building and Science Communication Lisa Saltzman and Eric Rosenberg, eds., Trauma and Visuality in Modernity The Self in Black and White Race and Subjectivity in Postwar American Photography Erina Duganne Dartmouth College Press hanover, new hampshire Published by University Press of New England hanover and london Dartmouth College Press Published by University Press of New England One Court Street, Lebanon NH 03766 www.upne.com © 2009 by Dartmouth College Press <<Comp carry query: Des: this info correct?>>Printed in the United States of America 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Members of educational institutions and organizations wishing to photocopy any of the work for classroom use, or authors and publishers who would like to obtain permission for any of the material in the work, should contact Permissions, University Press of New England, One Court Street, Lebanon NH 03766. <<Comp carry query: Des: insert GPI info?>> <<LC CIP data TK>> For My Family contents Acknowledgments 000 Introduction: The Self in Black and White 1 Chapter 1: Beyond the “Negro Point of View”: The Kamoinge Workshop’s “Harlem” Portfolio 10 Chapter 2: Bruce Davidson’s “American Negro” Photographs in Context 55 Chapter 3: Getting Down to the Feeling: Bruce Davidson, Roy DeCarava, and the Civil Rights Movement 94 Chapter 4: Roy DeCarava, Harlem, and the Psychic Self 132 Epilogue: Dawoud Bey and the Act of Reciprocity 168 Notes 179 Bibliography 218 Index 225 acknowledgments The completion of this book could not have happened without the generosity, dedi- cation, and compassion of many individuals. First, I would like to thank my advisor, mentor, and friend, Ann Reynolds. Her passionate dedication to the highest standards of intellectual curiosity and excellence and her unwavering support of my work have both challenged me and provided me with indispensable models to use in my pro- fessional and personal life. I am also indebted to the other members of my doctoral committee for their interest and support of my project: Mia Carter, Michael Charles- worth, Linda Henderson, Amelia Malagamba, and Camara Dia Holloway. A number of other individuals offered their time, memories, and commentary during various stages of this project. Most especially, the lively and engaging conversations that I had with Kamoinge Workshop members Beuford Smith, the late Louis Draper, and Albert [ ix ] Fennar have been indispensable to my thinking about this project. The early stages of writing were supported by the encouragement and friendship provided by Susan Richmond and Heather Mathews. I am also indebted to Sara Blair, Greg Stanczak, Brenna Munro, and the anonymous readers at the University Press of New England for their careful readings, indispensable comments, and thoughtful advice. They have all made this book considerably better. I would also like to thank Lizy Wildsmith, Lori Cavagnaro, Paige Bonner, Ruth McGillion, and Sarah Wymer for their lifelong support and friendship as well as Barry and Mae Stone, Ann Pizer, Vince Prothro, Beaty and Fletcher Wilson, Susan Alexander-Wilson, Davis Comeau, Rae Craig, Shawn and Kendall Camp, Cara and Mavis Harrison, Jeff Hampton, Ai- mee Jost, Bill Mayer, Todd Komanetsky, and Amy, Chris, and Nassos Papalexandrou for making Austin a better place to live. I am exceedingly grateful for the two years that I spent as an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the History of Photography at Williams College. This fellow- ship gave me not only the time and resources to further develop and expand this proj- ect but also an astonishing and nurturing intellectual community that helped to shape the project in significant ways. In particular, Holly Edwards, Karin Stack, Richard Scullin, Mark Reinhardt, Aida Laleian, Steve Levin, Frank Jackson, Stefanie Solum, Olga Shevchenko, Barry Goldstein, Carol Ockman, and Ralph Lieberman provided advice, encouragement, and, above all, friendship. I would also like to thank my col- leagues and students in the Department of Art and Design at Texas State University, especially Alan Pizer, Andy Campbell, Josh Rios, and Kristi Reese, for their intellec- tual support and enthusiasm. Parts of this book were presented as papers to lively audiences at conferenc- es sponsored by Colgate University, the College Art Association, and the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans at the University of Maryland, College Park. I am especially grateful to Mary Ann Calo, Camara Dia Holloway as well as Renée Ater, and Adrienne Childs for respectively organizing these events and supporting my work as well as to Bill Gaskins — who I had the good fortune to meet during one of these conferences — for his dynamic conver- sations and untiring enthusiasm for this project. The arguments that I make in this book depend a great deal on archival sources; for that reason, I am most grateful for the special research and image assistance that [ ] I received from Alan Fisher, Margaret Harman, and Eric Cuellar at the LBJ School Library and Museum, Sarah Hermanson at the Museum of Modern Art, Mary Year- wood at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Peter Bunnell at the Minor White Archive at the Princeton University Art Museum, Gary Saretzky and Mel Leipzig at Mercer Community College, Mary Ison at the Library of Congress, Anna Winand at the International Center for Photography, Christine Cordazzo at Esto Photographics, Michael Shulman at Magnum Photos, Christina Deane at the University of Virginia Library, Tom Lisanti at the New York Public Library, Elizabeth Shank at the Bruce Silverstein Gallery, Anne Coleman Torrey at the Aaron Siskind Foundation, Nicole Dobynes at Ebony, and Elisa Marquez at AP/World Wide Photos. I would also like to thank Beuford Smith, Herb Randall, Bob Adelman, Nell Winston, Michele Durrant, Robert and Cheryl Cottrol, Ken Keyman, and Lillian Gregory for permission to reproduce images. Parts of Chapters 1 and 2 appeared in New Thoughts on the Black Arts Move- ment and Visual Research Methods: Image, Society, and Representation. I am grateful to the editors of these books — Lisa Gail Collins and Margo Crawford as well as Greg Stanczak — for their insightful comments and the opportunity to publish this material. I also received indispensable financial support from the Wyeth Endowment for Amer- ican Art in the form of a College Art Association (CAA) Professional Development Fellowship for Art Historians as well as a Publication Grant for former CAA Profes- the self in black and white sional Development Fellows. This support came at two crucial points in the trajectory of this project, and I am exceedingly fortunate for their continued commitment to me and my work. I am also indebted to Richard Pult, Lys Weiss, Rosemary Williams, and Katy Grabill at the University Press of New England and the editors of this se- ries — Mark J. Williams and Adrian W. B. Randolph at Dartmouth College — for their extraordinary commitment to this project as well as their support and care for seeing it through to completion. Without the unwavering support of my family I would have never had the de- termination and resolve to complete this project. Robert and Brendan Duganne have each in their different ways supported, challenged, and most importantly loved me. I am also deeply indebted to Carol Lynn Duganne, whose fierce dedication, affection, and companionship have been a constant source of support for me in all aspects of my life. Finally, I am most grateful not only for the patience, humor, and affection that John Hunt has given to me at every stage and turn in this journey, but also for the liveliness, curiosity, and tenacity of Tiernan Hunt, who continues to make the world [ xi ] an immeasurably better place. Their collective commitment and unquestioning love of me and my work are the most precious gifts of all. I am blessed to have them in my life, and this book is dedicated to them.