In every generation, a photography book comes along and captures the zeitgeist with perfect aplomb. The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion(Aperture) is just that. Independent writer, curator, and critic Antwaun Sargent brings together 15 contemporary Black artists including Arielle Bobb-Willis, Nadine Ijewere, Namsa Leuba, Renell Medrano, Ruth Ossai, Adrienne Raquel, and Dana Scruggs, who are transforming the language of fashion photography by centering the aesthetics of the African diaspora in their work.
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In the 1940s, Gordon Parks used fashion to cross the color line that had kept Black artists from access to white institutions. Understanding the intrinsic power and influence of the mainstream media, Parks became the first Black photographer to shoot for Vogue at a time when Jim Crow was still law. While the 1964 Civil Rights Act criminalized de jure segregation, de facto actions persisted and it wasn’t until September 2019 that Tyler Mitchell, also featured in the book, became the first Black photographer to shoot Vogue’s cover.
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“We’re conditioned to not speak out against injustices that have happened to us,” Dana Scruggs tells The Luupe, “within the industry and outside of it, because opportunities could be taken away by white gatekeepers who feel defensive about their own viewpoints and behaviors towards Black people – and perhaps their own complicity in upholding the status quo and white supremacy within fashion, fine art, photojournalism, etc.”
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Read the Full Story at the Luupe
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