Photographers of color

gr82bart · Sep 23, 2017

I too thought about diversity in photographers. Even at several exhibitions of photos showing foreign countries and cultures, I've noted anecdotally most photographers are Western white males. Why is that?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/lens/2017/09/13/diversity-in-photojournalism-talk-is-cheap

https://hyperallergic.com/192376/ce...-and-the-collectives-that-have-nurtured-them/

https://www.pdnonline.com/features/industry-updates/need-photographers-photo-editors-color/

https://www.wired.com/2017/02/heres-female-photographers-matter-now-ever/

Discuss....
Regards, Art

Bob Carnie · Sep 23, 2017

Not sure, but I just finished Rita Leistner's show that opens at Stephen Bulger's new gallery Oct 21 and I feel its fantastic, Rita has worked in War Zones and areas of conflict but as well is know for touching portraits (the curtis project) and Middle East portraits people in front of their Bomb Shelters.
I think her body of work over the last 30 years matches anyones.

jim10219 · Sep 23, 2017

I believe it comes down to time and money. Photography equipment isn't cheap. And in order to really dedicate yourself to it, it will take a lot of free time. And not just to developed your craft, but also to promote your work. Traditionally, most of the people in this world with the money and free time to dedicate their lives to the art, and all arts in general, not just photography, are white males. Beyond that, is the connections one makes while being a part of the monied class. Gallery owners and their customers tend to have lots of disposable income, and people tend to associate themselves most often with others like them. So rich old white guys (generally not a demographic known to embrace racial and gender equality) with the money to spend on art, probably spend most of their free time around other rich old white guys. So the artists in their circles naturally tend to be rich white guys or friends and relatives of them. Art collectors outside those circles tend to want a good return on their investments, and buying art you know other rich people want is a more sound financial investment than buying art just because you like it. It's a self feeding cycle.

That being said, there is currently an ongoing explosion of diversity in the art realm. China is becoming a major player in the global financial market and bringing with them a meteoric rise in male Chinese artists. Women are becoming more powerful all over the western world, and so we're seeing more and more female artists emerge every day. So the old paradigm, while still in place, is being usurped. And while the majority of photographers are probably still white guys who have another source of income or means of financial stability outside of photography, that probably won't hold true for too much longer. And that's a good thing, because the art world has really stagnated since the middle part of the last century, and could use some fresh blood and ideas.

DWThomas · Sep 23, 2017

John W. Mosley was active in Philadelphia in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, primarily as a photojournalist. Woodmere Art Museum had an exhibit of his work last year and the quality was quite remarkable. He put a lot of effort in documenting day-to-day life in the African American community in Philadelphia, partly to show that there were non-white families doing and celebrating the same things as just about every family. But it was interesting to note that a picture he took of Martin Luther King speaking was over the shoulders of some other photographers, as according to the accompanying info, black photographers were forced out of any front line positions. I can see how becoming known could be quite an obstacle.

In his early years he worked for a studio in Philly. I've no idea how he got to that or how he learned what he knew. He worked with a 4x5 and later, a Rollei TLR, and did his own darkroom work. What he left behind shows that he certainly mastered the art. Mosley had work published in magazines in New York, Baltimore, as well as Philadelphia; but of course they were publications targeted to the AA community. He had some absolutely gorgeous photos of Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and many other musicians who appeared in Philly during that time period. That all that happened in a sort of separate world is a sad commentary on those years when some think we were so "great."

Temple University has a collection of his work.

BrianShaw · Sep 23, 2017

Why do you think that is?

George Mann · Sep 23, 2017

2 questions you need to ask yourself is which race invents and creates technology, and which has the most intellectual interest in using it.

MartinCrabtree · Sep 23, 2017

I enjoy the work of Japanese photographers. They often possess a stark incongruity I find fascinating.
A couple of my favorites.

Nobuyki Kobayashi

Nobuyoshi Araki

Cholentpot · Sep 23, 2017

Weegee was Jewish. Does that count?

mooseontheloose · Sep 24, 2017

Interesting topic Art. Although I would argue against the idea that most photographers are white, Western males. Professional photographers maybe.

A common thread throughout all those articles is the aspect of privilege - primarily financial - that allows people (photographers in this case) to get ahead. It seems like a cycle that's hard to break, although I think changing attitudes and uses of technology are helping to open new paths for aspiring photographers.

gr82bart · Sep 24, 2017

I was at the Tate last year and saw an exhibition regarding privilege. There were several thoughtful references and I'm trying to find them to post.

Regards, Art

Ces1um · Sep 25, 2017

gr82bart said:
I too thought about diversity in photographers. Even at several exhibitions of photos showing foreign countries and cultures, I've noted anecdotally most photographers are Western white males. Why is that?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/lens/2017/09/13/diversity-in-photojournalism-talk-is-cheap

https://hyperallergic.com/192376/ce...-and-the-collectives-that-have-nurtured-them/

https://www.pdnonline.com/features/industry-updates/need-photographers-photo-editors-color/

https://www.wired.com/2017/02/heres-female-photographers-matter-now-ever/

Discuss....
Regards, Art

Looking at your sources, they're all really "western world" sources. Perhaps the bias lies with those reporters? Maybe if you were Chinese and living in China (or Japan, or Africa, or add country here) you would research using the tools you know, reading your findings in a language you speak and would draw a totally different conclusion skewed to the findings you were able to understand?

If you work in a hospital then you start to think that everybody out there is sick. If you're a police officer, then the whole world looks like it's breaking the law. If you're a dentist, nobody out there brushes their teeth...

I wonder if you lived in Japan, and were part of the art/photography scene there, and were a native or born and raised there if you might find that most photographers were Asian?

Also, drawing from my personal experience it seems to me that most professional photographers are women. Of the few photographers in my area, I only know one male who is shooting weddings. Everyone else that i've met or passed by their studio have been females. This is just being drawn from memory though. I haven't fired up the yellow pages and made an exhaustive review of anything.

Not to be argumentative, just food for thought.

Ko.Fe. · Sep 25, 2017

Cholentpot said:
Weegee was Jewish. Does that count?

Common, he was Ukrainian!
Many of photographers I have books of are Jewish from the East Europe roots. Winogrand and George Zimbel. It is hard to find who isn't Jewish in the street photography (and whom I like).
Capa is East Europe Jewish too!

The OP message is kind of off the color, I think. How many Russian photographers does he know? Or photographers in India, China? I'm afraid photography OP knows about was from counties where white were predominant by numbers.
I'm bloody Russian. And one of the respected and known in Russia, war, conflict photographer was black. He passed away recently....

Ko.Fe. · Sep 25, 2017

Bob Carnie said:
Not sure, but I just finished Rita Leistner's show that opens at Stephen Bulger's new gallery Oct 21 and I feel its fantastic, Rita has worked in War Zones and areas of conflict but as well is know for touching portraits (the curtis project) and Middle East portraits people in front of their Bomb Shelters.
I think her body of work over the last 30 years matches anyones.

Thank you, Bob to have mention it! Can't wait to see it and new place.

Cholentpot · Sep 26, 2017

Ko.Fe. said:
Common, he was Ukrainian!
Many of photographers I have books of are Jewish from the East Europe roots. Winogrand and George Zimbel. It is hard to find who isn't Jewish in the street photography (and whom I like).
Capa is East Europe Jewish too!

The OP message is kind of off the color, I think. How many Russian photographers does he know? Or photographers in India, China? I'm afraid photography OP knows about was from counties where white were predominant by numbers.
I'm bloody Russian. And one of the respected and known in Russia, war, conflict photographer was black. He passed away recently....

Did he identify as such? I'm from a whole kaleidoscope of backgrounds but identify as Jewish to the point I don't really feel comfortable checking 'white' on a questionnaire.

My grandmother is Russian and served as a nurse in the Red Army. Is she white? Well I know she's quite a few shades of skin darker than a white person. I really don't give a flying squirrel about your skin color. It's eyes and a brain that take the photo not the skin pigmentation. My main influence took photos pretending to be who he wasn't. Roman Vishniac was Jewish but passed as a gentile to give him access and keep from being arrested while his Jewish knowledge helped shape his view.

jeffreyg · Sep 26, 2017

Read about Gordon Parks.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

Ko.Fe. · Sep 27, 2017

Cholentpot said:
Did he identify as such? I'm from a whole kaleidoscope of backgrounds but identify as Jewish to the point I don't really feel comfortable checking 'white' on a questionnaire.

My grandmother is Russian and served as a nurse in the Red Army. Is she white? Well I know she's quite a few shades of skin darker than a white person. I really don't give a flying squirrel about your skin color. It's eyes and a brain that take the photo not the skin pigmentation. My main influence took photos pretending to be who he wasn't. Roman Vishniac was Jewish but passed as a gentile to give him access and keep from being arrested while his Jewish knowledge helped shape his view.

Non of photographers I have mentioned and have deep respect I could recall to play race card. It is only and always comes from those who has nothing to do with photography. Or else. I'm in Canada. Working people of all races are getting alone. It is bureaucrats and socialists who benefits from race wars generated by them for own benefits.

bsdunek · Sep 27, 2017

Ko.Fe. said:
Non of photographers I have mentioned and have deep respect I could recall to play race card. It is only and always comes from those who has nothing to do with photography. Or else. I'm in Canada. Working people of all races are getting alone. It is bureaucrats and socialists who benefits from race wars generated by them for own benefits.

AMEN!

Cholentpot · Sep 27, 2017

Ko.Fe. said:
Non of photographers I have mentioned and have deep respect I could recall to play race card. It is only and always comes from those who has nothing to do with photography. Or else. I'm in Canada. Working people of all races are getting alone. It is bureaucrats and socialists who benefits from race wars generated by them for own benefits.

Bingo!

Etc etc etc content of character,

- Some guy or another

Peltigera · Sep 27, 2017

gr82bart said:
I too thought about diversity in photographers. Even at several exhibitions of photos showing foreign countries and cultures, I've noted anecdotally most photographers are Western white males. Why is that?

Discuss....
Regards, Art

I suspect it is because the Op is a white male. An art-lover in New Dehli will probably find most photographers are Hindi. Wander around a Nairobi gallery and I suspect white males will be well underrepresented.

As far as exhibitions showing foreign photographers are concerned, exhibitions in what countries, curated by citizens of which country? I suspect a white male curator is the significant element.

TheFlyingCamera · Sep 27, 2017

Peltigera said:
I suspect it is because the Op is a white male. An art-lover in New Dehli will probably find most photographers are Hindi. Wander around a Nairobi gallery and I suspect white males will be well underrepresented.

As far as exhibitions showing foreign photographers are concerned, exhibitions in what countries, curated by citizens of which country? I suspect a white male curator is the significant element.

You presume incorrectly. Art is an Indonesian who lives in Canada and the US. I've met him - nice guy. Definitely brown, not the paler side of beige. His camera is canary yellow. I will agree that the "white male" perspective on who is a photographer comes from being located in the US and Canada - that's who dominates the marketplace here, so that's whose names and images you're going to see. But photography is a universal pursuit. There are large photography cultures in China, Japan, India, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Turkey... just to name a few places. It is easy to lose perspective when what you have easiest access to is monocultural.

Cholentpot · Apr 8, 2021

MartinCrabtree said:
The fact that people of color face additional hurdles to simply be recognized for good work (no matter the variety) is still baffling to me. As is the ignorance of those who deny it's existence. What is considered progress is nothing more than window dressing.

Who's putting up those barriers? The same people that denigrate untrained artists as 'Outside Art'? Oh, you can't make art because you have no formal education via the mainstream system?

I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that the people who put up these barriers are the same ones who look(ed) down on photography as a second or even third class artistic medium. It's elitism, oh it's so simple to take a photo, anyone can do it so where's the art? In general 99.9% of people looking to get recognition as a photographer will face the same blocks and holds as anyone of any race these days. To be the best is very hard regardless of your identity.

Do you honestly think there are editors in 2021 saying 'His work is outstanding but I mean look at his skin, we can't have this.'

Really?

Sirius Glass · Apr 8, 2021

MartinCrabtree said:
The fact that people of color face additional hurdles to simply be recognized for good work (no matter the variety) is still baffling to me. As is the ignorance of those who deny it's existence. What is considered progress is nothing more than window dressing.

BrianShaw said:
Yup

tballphoto · Apr 8, 2021

MartinCrabtree said:
The fact that people of color face additional hurdles to simply be recognized for good work (no matter the variety) is still baffling to me. As is the ignorance of those who deny it's existence. What is considered progress is nothing more than window dressing.

I have a feeling your "knobbley mountain" is either a closet with a population of one, or a sharp stick inserted into the ground with a population of one.

Its more common to find WHITES discriminated against then anyone else.

BrianShaw · Apr 8, 2021

Tball... discrimination doesn’t discriminate. Haters hate. Everyone is subject to being hated and discriminated. I’m not sure anymore who is the subject of discrimination today because there is a significant amount of hate for everyone who is perceived different. And you’re right, being white and/or male does not exempt one from discrimination. But it’s undeniable that historically “people of color” have been subjected to overt and often legal discrimination.

tballphoto · Apr 8, 2021

BrianShaw said:
Tball... discrimination doesn’t discriminate. Haters hate. Everyone is subject to being hated and discriminated. I’m not sure anymore who is the subject of discrimination today because there is so much hate for everyone who is perceived different. But it’s undeniable that historically “people of color” have been subjected to overt discrimination.

Check the calender dude, since 2014 its been 100% anti white christian heterosexual male NON STOP.

Photographers of color

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