{"id":18451,"date":"2024-09-13T16:56:41","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T20:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/?p=18451"},"modified":"2024-09-16T17:47:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T21:47:34","slug":"i-was-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/2024\/09\/13\/i-was-here\/","title":{"rendered":"I Was Here"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-REPRESENTATION<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coming of age during the Civil Rights and Women\u2019s Liberation movements, Smith fully embraced the power of self-determination. \u201cI never saw being a woman or being a black woman, as an obstacle. I wanted to take pictures. It wasn\u2019t like you were going to make money \u2013 you just did it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1974, just a year after she arrived in New York, Smith was able to turn a fashion go-see into an opportunity to join the photography world as the first female member of Kamoinge, the celebrated African-American photography collective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI went to a photographer\u2019s loft on 20th and Fifth Avenue. While I was waiting in the outside room, I overheard (Kamoinge member) Anthony Barboza and another photographer having a debate about photography. They were talking about if it was all nostalgia or if it was an art form \u2013 at that time, photography was not considered an art form,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few months later, Smith met Kamoinge member Louis Draper. He asked to see her photographs and then formally invited her to join Kamoinge. Smith accepted the offer, understanding the mission of the group aligned perfectly with her own. \u201cThey wanted to make images of the black experience themselves, rather than having the establishment photograph them. That was like being a pioneer and a revolutionary in their own right.\u201d (Dazed, 2018)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Seventeen emerging and underrepresented lens-based artists working in the mediums of photography, video, performance, collage, and mixed media explore the concept of proclaiming one\u2019s existence through image-making and storytelling. In our social landscape, the phrase \u201c____ was here\u201d is a familiar declaration found on walls and public surfaces, symbolizing an act of marking one\u2019s time and presence in a place. In the current social and political climate in which the complicated histories of Black people face the threat of erasure, sharing stories through the lens of Black creators and cultural producers is critical. Delving  into the myriad ways of being and existing in our ever-complicated modern society, these artists offer insights on disability, gender and sexual identity, survival, imagination, aging, ancestry, community, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mother by Tariq Trey (Portraits \u2014 Tariq Tarey<\/em>, n.d.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Taking inspiration from renowned photographer Ming Smith, this exhibition evokes her perspective of \u201ccelebrating the struggle, the survival, and finding grace in it.\u201d I Was Here <\/em>celebrates Smith\u2019s legacy while providing young artists the opportunity to present work inspired by her style.” (CCAD, 2024)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I visited this exhibit and entered the space I felt a large sense of community from people attending the exhibit along with the representation shown amongst the work. The photo above specifically was something I could relate to and reflect thinking back to when my own mother carried me on her back the same way the mother<\/strong> above is carrying her own. In this moment I felt seen, my identity and culture was a story being told through imagery. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This representation in the public arena made me reflect on the significance of how stories and traditions being shared with those who don’t know about it can have a positive impact on both communities. It creates a connection and more understanding between people. It also gives people confidence that identify with the piece a sense of belonging and that they have a voice. This connects to what I’m learning about Native Americans and how they are here, thriving some willing to share their history and continue their legacies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Dazed. (2018, March 6). Meeting the first black woman to have work in MoMA\u2019s permanent collection<\/em>. Dazed. https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/38789\/1\/ming-smith-the-first-black-woman-to-have-work-in-momas-permanent-collection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CCAD (Ed.). (2024, September 5). I WAS HERE, FOTOFOCUS BIENNIAL<\/em>. https:\/\/www.ccad.edu\/events\/i-was-here-fotofocus-biennial<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portraits \u2014 Tariq Tarey<\/em>. (n.d.). Tariq Tarey. https:\/\/tariqtarey.com\/portraits\/5njh0ytq0naszf0phjdh2xykq7umn5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-REPRESENTATION Coming of age during the Civil Rights and Women\u2019s Liberation movements, Smith fully embraced the power of self-determination. \u201cI never saw being a woman or being a black woman, as an obstacle. I wanted to take pictures. It wasn\u2019t like you were going to make money \u2013 you just did it,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":19311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18451"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19903,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18451\/revisions\/19903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}