This exhibit, entitled, “We Are Stories….If My Child Should Ask” is a unique artistic collaboration featuring the photography of, Dr. David A. Anderson and installation, mixed media artist, Shawn Dunwoody.
The work of, Dr. David A. Anderson, was very reminiscent of being a retrospective of another former, Rochester Institute of Technology, photography alumni. Well, if one counts the number of, African American photographers matriculating through RIT, it narrows to a very select and prestigious group, including a few who quickly made their signature known, such as, Bernie Boston [LA Times, Pulitzer finalist, covered every president from Truman to Clinton] and Gordon Parks Jr. [directed, Super Fly, Thomasina & Bushrod etc.], come to mind.
However, this reviewer did not recognize this body of work as the signature, “zone five” the hallowed system taught at leading photographic institutions but yet a more cryptic journey is to be experienced by the viewer, who is willing to do some homework.
Dr. David A. Anderson, PHD, came through a time when black photographers were a fairly new listing, and did not necessarily have the, “liberty” of casually photographing, there was a war going on. The 60’s and 70’s saw Vietnam come and go but the real war was raging in urban streets, company protest lines, civil rights marches and in the hearts of many Americans, here on the home front. There were, “isms & schisms,” there were identities to be established, stories to be told and “his-story,” to be corrected.
Many of the images in this collection seemed personal and others personalized by added text. Yet, it could be said, others are photographs for those who could not speak up and for those who could not stand up, these were a declaration for the, “voiceless” and Dr. David A. Anderson, like many of his contemporaries, armed themselves and set about turning their cameras on the, “unsung” and "singing" and the preparation of the generation to come. That preparation included a, PH.D. in Educational Administration, Chairing the Rochester-Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission, Community Scholar in Residence, Nazareth College and as member of the, National Association of Black Story Tellers, teaching countless children by enacting, reciting rich cultural antidotes and pros.
Dr. David A. Anderson, AKA, Sankofa, is a consummate storyteller, who has combined his passions by marrying words with his images, executing the, "art of education," through a tireless life of advocacy. Thus, the exhibits title, “We Are Stories….If My Child Should Ask.”
Ayorinde
Shawn Dunwoody’s installations and mixed media work illustrates how lucid Shawn’s work is. My first thought was, “clearly, he can make art out of anything.” The work is bold, laced with black memorabilia and seemingly, whimsical. However, as in art, things are often not what you first think it to be. The materials found or selected, often convey a very pointed statement without necessarily stabbing its viewers.
The gallery executed a wonderful presentation of this work. One enjoys a sense of, “strolling” through a kind of public art park, encountering delights and brain teasers, cultural quizzes and celebrations and yet, sometimes one wonders if oneself is an interactive pawn in this exhibit field.
In viewing much of this work, there is a sense of liberation from conventions and constraints yet there are obvious latent Afrocentric, sometimes tribal iconic renderings, "blue-sy," as in, "Delta" and again coming full circle to, "Beta" world. Thus, the exhibits title, “We Are Stories….If My Child Should Ask.”
In viewing much of this work, there is a sense of liberation from conventions and constraints yet there are obvious latent Afrocentric, sometimes tribal iconic renderings, "blue-sy," as in, "Delta" and again coming full circle to, "Beta" world. Thus, the exhibits title, “We Are Stories….If My Child Should Ask.”
Ayorinde
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