Title & Author:

Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955-1985 / edited by Philip Brookman, Deborah Willis ; preface by Angela Y. Davis ; contributions by Makeda Best, Margo Natalie Crawford, Romi Crawford, Cheryl Finley, Sarah Lewis, Audrey Sands.

Publication:

Washington [DC] : National Gallery of Art ; New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, [2025]
©2025

Description:

287 pages : illustrations (some color), portraits (some color) ; 26 x 23 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-270) and index.
Foreword / Kaywin Feldman -- Preface / Angela Y. Davis -- The Messenger / Philip Brookman -- The photograph, women, and the movement / Deborah Willis -- Plates -- American ground / Sarah Lewis -- Extra Black in its absence / Romi Crawford -- The art of Black light / Margo Natalie Crawford -- Black photojournalism and revolutionary times / Makeda Best -- New ways of seeing / Cheryl Finley.

Exhibitions:

Published to accompany the exhibition held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, September 21, 2025-January 4, 2026, at J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, February 24-May 24, 2026, and at Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, July 25-November 1, 2026.

Summary:

"Featuring more than 100 artists, this landmark book charts the intricate connections between photography and the Black Arts Movement. The Black Arts Movement brought together writers, filmmakers, and visual artists who were exploring ways of using art to advance civil rights and Black self-determination. This book examines the vital role of photography in the evolution of the Black Arts Movement, revealing how photographs operated across art, community building, journalism, and political messaging to contribute to the development of a distinctly Black art and culture. Works by Romare Bearden, Dawoud Bey, Kwame Brathwaite, Samuel Fosso, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Gordon Parks, Juan Sánchez, Robert A. Sengstacke, Lorna Simpson, Ming Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems, among dozens of other celebrated and underappreciated artists, span documentary and fashion photography, portraiture, collage, installation, performance, and video. Pictured luminaries include Miles Davis, Mahalia Jackson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Malcolm X, and many more. The book's essays by distinguished scholars focus on topics such as women and the movement, community, activism, and Black photojournalism. Taking an expansive approach, the authors consider the complex connections between American artists and the African diaspora and the dynamic interchange of pan-African ideas that propelled the movement. Authoritative and beautifully illustrated, this is the definitive volume on photography and the Black Arts Movement. Published in association with the National Gallery of Art"--Publisher.

ISBN:

9780300283501 hardcover
0300283504 hardcover
electronic book
9780300286847

Subject:

Black Arts movement Exhibitions.
Black Arts movement Pictorial works.
Art and photography United States Exhibitions.
Photography in social change United States History 20th century Exhibitions.
African Americans Race identity Pictorial works Exhibitions.
Photojournalism United States History 20th century Exhibitions.
Portrait photography United States Exhibitions.
Photography, Artistic Exhibitions.
Art et photographie États-Unis Expositions.
Photographie de presse États-Unis Histoire 20e siècle Expositions.
Noirs américains Identité ethnique Ouvrages illustrés Expositions.
Photographie artistique Expositions.
Portraits (Photographie) États-Unis Expositions.
Art and photography
Black Arts movement
Photojournalism History.
United States
1900-1999

Form/genre:

exhibition catalogs.
photobooks.
History.
Exhibition catalogs.
Photobooks.
Illustrated works.
Catalogues d'exposition.
Ouvrages illustrés.
Livres de photographies.

Added entries:

Brookman, Philip, editor.
Willis, Deborah, 1948- editor.
Davis, Angela Y. (Angela Yvonne), 1944- contributor.
Best, Makeda, 1975- contributor.
Crawford, Margo Natalie, 1969- contributor.
Crawford, Romi, contributor.
Finley, Cheryl, contributor.
Lewis, Sarah Elizabeth, 1979- contributor.
Sands, Audrey, contributor.
National Gallery of Art (U.S.), host institution, issuing body.
J. Paul Getty Museum, host institution.
Mississippi Museum of Art, host institution.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 324156
Call No.: 324156
Copy: 1
Status: Available