NOW ON VIEW
Photography
From the
Collection
Victoria Cooke, curator
Recently, the CMA rededicated the BB&T
gallery to show more works on paper
from the collection, including prints,
drawings and photography. The debut
show, White, Roberts & Ashe: Photography
from the Collection, features the work of
three African-American artists: Richard
Samuel Roberts (1880–1936), Jeanne
Moutoussamy-Ashe (b. 1951) and Charles
White (1918?1979).
Richard Samuel Roberts constructed
the identity of a generation of African
Americans in South Carolina. His
breathtakingly crafted photographs
may seem as if they were made for the
private use of the sitter, but Roberts’
hard-won technical skill and imaginative
artistic vision are proof that he—like any
ambitious artist—assumed an audience
of future viewers who would not only be
impressed by his work, but who would
be moved spiritually and intellectually to
understand something greater than the
sum of the parts of his pictures.
This installation also includes photographs
taken by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe on
Daufuskie Island, South Carolina in the
early 1980s. At that time, the island was
still largely untouched by the outside
world. She captured every aspect of
the Gullah community from homes to
churches and the surrounding landscape.
Each individual she photographed shines
through with his or her own special
personality. Her pictures help preserve the
unique culture of this community.
Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
American, born 1951
Blossom (detail), 1981
gelatin silver print
Gift of Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe in 1985
In addition, two photographs by the
draftsman Charles White are included.
White’s photographs capture urban life in
his hometown of Chicago. He said, “Paint
is the only weapon that I have with which
to fight what I resent. If I could write,
I would write about it. If I could talk, I
would talk about it. Since I paint, I must
paint about it.” He was wrong; he did have
another weapon—photography.
Like all works on paper, photographs
are fragile and subject to fading when
exposed to light for extended periods.
To preserve the collection for future
generations, the photographs by Roberts
and Moutoussamy-Ashe with be exchanged
with other photographs by the same
artists in the fall. The two photographs
by Charles White will be replaced
with Counting, a large work by Lorna
Simpson (b. 1960). Simpson is a leading
artist and photographer featured at the
Whitney Museum of American Art and
the Brooklyn Museum. Her work reflects
a contemporary approach to AfricanAmerican subject matter and addresses
issues of race and gender.
Photography from the Collection is on view
through early 2014. n
columbiamuseum.org
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