Dawoud Bey: An American Project
Apr 17–Oct 3, 2021
Harlem, U.S.A.
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Bey began photographing in Harlem in 1975, at the age of twenty-two. Although he was raised in Queens, Bey was intimately connected to the neighborhood: his parents had met there, and members of his extended family still made it their home. Drawn to the neighborhood as both a symbol of and a wellspring for Black American culture, Bey wanted to portray its residents as complex individuals in images free of stereotype. These works all come from the series Harlem, U.S.A. (1975–79).
Bey used a 35mm camera with a slightly wide-angle lens, which required him to get close to his subjects while grounding them in the cityscape behind them. His set-up was nimble and discreet, and let the artist carefully control the framing. In 1979, the series was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, a museum dedicated to the arts of the African diaspora. Even at this very early moment in his career, it was critical to Bey that the works be shown in the community where they were made, allowing the people he was representing to have access to the work they inspired.
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Dawoud Bey, Two Girls at Lady D's, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., c. 1976. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm); 16 3/8 × 20 5/8 × 1 1/2 in. frame. Collection of the artist; courtesy the artist and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey. Image courtesy the artist and Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago
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Dawoud Bey, Deas McNeil, the Barber, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., c. 1975. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey. Image courtesy the artist and Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago
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Dawoud Bey, Four Children at Lenox Avenue, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., 1977. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey
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Dawoud Bey, A Man in a Bowler Hat, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., c. 1976. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm). Collection of the artist and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey
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Dawoud Bey, Three Women at a Parade, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., 1978. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey
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Dawoud Bey, A Woman Waiting in the Doorway, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., 1977. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 14 × 11 in. overall (35.6 × 27.9 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey
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Dawoud Bey, A Boy in Front of the Loew's 125th Street Movie Theater, Harlem, NY, from Harlem, U.S.A., 1976. Gelatin silver print (printed 2019), 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; and Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. © Dawoud Bey