06/08/2020
We, Phocus Photography, deeply grieve the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless other Black lives that have been unjustly taken. We strongly condemn police brutality against the Black community, and stand against the systemic racism that has pervaded our society for too long under White supremacy. We fight against the anti-Black racism that has caused our Black communities too much harm and pain, and support and stand in solidarity with our Black siblings.
In today’s visual world, the importance of photographs resonates more than ever before, and is especially relevant in this situation. Photography is a vital part of how we see the world, but we also must acknowledge that photography, like any other form of art and expression, is subject to racial bias and discrimination. The world continues to profit off of and appropriate the voices and images of Black communities and their suffering — viral photos of police brutality, images of protests and riots, staged photo ops by the police to publicize “solidarity”, and the recent gassing of peaceful protestors near the White House in order for the president to have a photoshoot with a Bible. We denounce this usage of photography, and promote the usage of photography in a supportive way.
Thus, at Phocus, we commit ourselves to acknowledging the importance of Black voices in art and educating ourselves on the Black contribution to photography. We will be promoting the work of Black artists and photographers, and circulating important resources regarding photography and the BLM movement through our social media channels. Black perspectives matter. Black Lives Matter.
PHOTOGRAPHY RELATED ANTI-RACISM RESOURCES
General resources to support BLM
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BSYzGR25aCFpNa2vZRmI8AeN5V5FTamYtLAYyVGvE3s/edit =0
https://www.bjp-online.com/2020/06/black-lives-matter-anti-racism-resources/
2020 PROTESTS
Black Photographers’ Coverage
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1DMDZZGSq5YLqlskIf30yM2p8G944grtHR_0zKl6MAXY/htmlview
17 Powerful Pictures Of The Protests Through The Eyes Of Black Photographers (Buzzfeed JPG)
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrielsanchez/powerful-pictures-protest-black-photographers-instagram
Protests Across America Through the Eyes of Black Photographers (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-06-05/protests-across-america-through-the-eyes-of-black-photographers
Black Photographers Capture Power of Protest (L’Officiel)
https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/9-Black-Photographers-Capture-Power-of-Protest
PROBLEMATIC PROTEST PHOTO-OPS
Sharing police “solidarity” photos does NOT advance the cause.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/shannonkeating/cops-kneeling-hugging-protesters-george-floyd-protests
Performative activism
https://www.insider.com/la-woman-backlash-posing-drill-protests-facts-with-fiona-moriarty-2020-6
https://toofab.com/2020/06/02/ava-duvernay-slams-woman-vandalized-store-photo-op-protests/
Trump’s history-making photo shoot
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/868779265/trump-defends-symbolism-of-photo-op-at-st-johns-church
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/us/politics/trump-walk-lafayette-square.html
RACISM IN PHOTOGRAPHY
RACIAL BIAS
The relationship between racism and the camera. (NYT)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/lens/sarah-lewis-racial-bias-photography.html
The racial biases that remain in photography. (NPR)
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/04/16/303721251/light-and-dark-the-racial-biases-that-remain-in-photography
Video explainer of racism of Kodak and lighting. (VOX)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d16LNHIEJzs&feature=emb_logo
Racism in photo coverage by National Geographic (National Geographic)
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/from-the-editor-race-racism-history/
IN THE ART WORLD
Contemporary art appropriation of black bodies
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/black-bodies-white-cubes-the-problem-with-contemporary-arts-appropriation-of-race-6648/
Appropriated images of Black people at St. Louis Museum, 2016.
https://hyperallergic.com/324466/appropriated-images-of-black-people-spark-boycott-of-st-louis-museum/
Racial bias in AI Art project.
https://hyperallergic.com/518822/600000-images-removed-from-ai-database-after-art-project-exposes-racist-bias/
IN FACIAL RECOGNITION CAMERAS
Racist facial recognition cameras could lead to false arrests. (Telegraph)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/12/20/racist-sexist-facial-recognition-cameras-could-lead-false-arrests/
Study confirms facial recognition systems are racist. (MIT Technology Review)
https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/12/20/79/ai-face-recognition-racist-us-government-nist-study/
The Racist History behind Facial Recognition. (NYT).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/opinion/facial-recognition-race.html
Techno-racism in Detroit’s use of facial recognition.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/16/its-techno-racism-detroit-is-quietly-using-facial-recognition-to-make-arrests
HISTORY OF BLACK PHOTOGRAPHY
Cameras as a tool of empowerment. (Smithsonian)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/turn-of-century-african-americans-camera-tool-empowerment-180971757/
Interview with creators of Through a Lens Darkly (NPR)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/turn-of-century-african-americans-camera-tool-empowerment-180971757/
African American History Museum’s new collections. (Smithsonian)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/black-photographers-camera-joy-struggle-180963180/
Early African American photographers. (Time)
https://time.com/5539596/early-african-american-photographers/
MEDIA TO CONSUME
Through a Lens Darkly
https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/through-a-lens-darkly/
Reflections in Black - A History of Black Photographers
https://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Black-History-Photographers-Present/dp/0393322807
Visualizing Racism Photo Essay
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2019/11/25/visualizing-racism-photo-essay/?arc404=true
Documenting our Existence in Photography | Black America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfwm9R9dI3o
PHOTOGRAPHERS TO FOLLOW
Time list
https://time.com/4673827/black-photographers/
Nations Photo Lab List
https://www.nationsphotolab.com/blog/black-photographers-to-follow/
