Photography

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Photography

Photo by Brantley Carroll

Click here to visit Brantley Carroll's website

Click here to visit the Community Folk Art Center

VISUAL ARTS

Syracuse Venacular Photgrapher Wilkins featured in Light Work Exhibition

By: PennyMaria Jackson

Twenty black and white vernacular photos (amateur) documenting African-American life in Syracuse hung on the walls at Light Work on Waverly Avenue as a constant stream of admirers studied them on November 13.

The photos, taken by local documentary vernacular photographer Marjory Wilkins, were featured during the Light Work Grant project exhibit which awarded three Central New York artists partial funding and space at Light Work to display their projects each year.

A recipient of this year’s Light Work Grant, photo historian Nancy Keefe Rhodes was awarded a $2,000 grant to restore 37 of Wilkins’ thousands of photos, many of which were taken between the 1940s and 1970s. Rhodes had been working with Wilkins since 2005 and the two were contemplating publishing a book of Wilkins’ photos.

“The grant allowed us to make this big surge forward,” Rhodes said on a phone interview after opening night. “It’s been a long process and this has allowed us to accelerate that.”

Although Wilkins has had a few shows at the Community Folk Art Center, the Onondaga Historical Association and the Onondaga County Library, Rhodes felt that Wilkins’ photos deserved more exposure she said. “I did this project not only to bring greater interest to her work, but because I think her work represents something that people aren’t paying attention to,” Rhodes said.

Dr. Kheli Willetts, academic director at the Community Folk Art Center believes that Wilkins’ work has a lot to say about African-Americans’ history in Syracuse. “It validates the fact that they’ve had a presence,” Willetts said at Light Work on opening night. “There’s an opportunity for people to understand the African-American Syracuse. Maybe when they think of Syracuse of old, they may not consider the different communities of color and here you have a glimpse.”

One of the photos from the exhibit that held viewers eye more than others was “Gloria on Motorcycle” in 1949 shows a woman dressed in a two toned suit posing next to a motorcycle. Wilkins photographs would be considered by many to be in the genre of vernacular photography and therefore undeserving of being regarded as art.

In a book titled “African-American Vernacular Photography: The Daniel Cowin Collection,” artists Brian Wallis and Deborah Willis wrote essays to accompany 66 vernacular photos of African-American life between the mid 1800s and 1900s featured in an exhibit in 2006.

In Rhodes’ essay in the exhibition’s catalogue, she had this to say in response to Wallis. “As vernacular photographs, they have been framed as unschooled, local, everyday images with, as Brian Wallis describes still-prevailing notions, ‘no apparent aesthetic ambition.’” Later in that same essay, Rhodes explained that, “defining photographs as merely vernacular can undervalue an entire picture taking community into which photographers like Marjory Wilkins are born, a community that initiates its youngsters with role models and mentors, abundant examples, early exposure of practice and a fluent gasp of composition.”

Kheli Willietts, who is usually surrounded by exhibitions at the Community Folk Art Center on a daily bases believes that in order for vernacular photography to be appreciated there must be a change in people’s perceptions. “The notion of who is considered to be an artist needs to be redefined and interrogated,” Willets said. “Here you have a woman who’s been taking photos since she was 12 years old and doesn’t consider herself an artist. Not only was she documenting her life, but also documenting a community without even knowing it. And because she has such a beautiful eye when she takes pictures she was engaging in a practice of art that I don’t think she anticipated.”

In “The Accidental Masterpiece,” Michael Kimmelman notes that although amateur photographers may have no formal training, meaning and purpose can be found in their photos. “Memory and hope, past and future; snapping a picture with a Kodak, like painting a picture with a brush and canvas is a way to leave a mark for posterity, a trace of one’s self,” Kimmelman wrote.

Because Wilkins had been photographing for nearly 70 years, her work is historical for both the African-American community and in Syracuse as a whole. Throughout the night more and more people walked down the hall and gazed at Wilkins’ photos. Although one person after another, sometimes after waiting in a short line, greeted Wilkins and spoke to her about the value of her work, she remained humble. “I enjoy taking pictures of my friend,” Wilkins said resting on a bench toward with her black camera clutched between her hands. “I didn’t know they were going to be historical. I just did it. I feel very fortunate to have been around, kept them and passed them on.”

The appreciation of vernacular photography has seen an overwhelming growth in recent years, according to Rhodes. This surge in community documentary photo appreciation may have influenced Light Work Grant judges in their selection process Rhodes said.

Wilkins’ son David Wilkins, who is a photo journalist, helped Nancy throughout the selection and description process. Grants that feature vernacular photography can serve as an important tool in preserving history David said. “This is one of the things that is invaluable because no matter what happens in the future, someone will be able to come back and look at the 15th ward [a former south side neighborhood demolished by urban renewal], even though it may be limited in the eyes of one person, and say I know something about this neighborhood or this community,” David said.

Whether vernacular art gains a new definition or people change their perception of the value of it or not, there is no denying the impact it can have on future generations and even the world, Jackie Warren-Moore said during the exhibition’s opening. “The more we know about each other, the better off the world is,” Warren-Moore said expressing the importance of her statement by widening her eyes. “Art more than anything always does that. Someone of a different culture can look at one of those photos and see something in their own life and recognize the humanity in it.”

Brantley Carroll Resurrects History in his Latest Exhibition

By: PennyMaria Jackson

On Saturday afternoon, 20 or so members of the Pollard family gathered in the Community Folk Art Center’s art gallery to discuss the latest exhibition, “The Whipping Post”, with the artist Brantley Carroll.

After the informal discussion, the family looked around the gallery at Carroll’s photos as “Traces of the Trade”, a film of slave narratives, played in the background. A group of six Pollard women discussed “Amazing Grace”, with Carroll. This particular photo showed a man stretched over a background filled with sky, sea and cotton. The man’s body had space left between the neck, the shoulder blades, the elbows, wrists, waist, knees and ankles through which the background is revealed. The words Amazing Grace are painted over his head. The caption describes the middle passage that slaves endured and describes dismemberment as a form of punishment or elimination of sick slaves and the involvement of the hymnal Amazing Grace author’s in slavery.

“Any group that comes through is the highlight of my art work,” said Carroll. “It means more than any award or grant.” As Carroll spoke with the women, his demeanor was very relaxed and comfortable. He stood attentively as he answered each of the women’s questions and listened to their concerns about African-American’s past and present.

Carroll, 47, considers him self to be a reportage photographer and has been practicing photography for over 15 years. “I’m reporting on historical events that intercede with current events,” said Carroll staring intensely out of the large window-pane of the gallery through his smoke rectangular spectacles.

Carroll endured a long journey to become the artist that he is today. After high school, he went straight into the workforce because he felt he didn’t have the discipline for college he said. He put his cooking skills to use and traveled, working at various restaurants including one in St. Thomas.

“I made some money but what comes along with that is nightlife and partying,” Carroll said. Carroll became addicted to alcohol and experimented with drugs in his late 20s. When his drug and alcohol abuse made it impossible for him to keep a job, he wound up homeless living in a Syracuse rescue mission. He eventually went through a rehab program at Common Wealth.

He was raised mainly by his mother, Frances Carroll, who remained by his side even through his difficult time. “I used tough love with him, you have to stop enabling and exercise tough love,” Frances said. “But he had inner-strength. He’s extremely intelligent and he though about with he was doing to himself and realized it wasn’t profitable.”

As Carroll was getting his life back on track, he decided to take some photography classes. He felt he could use this art form to tell the stories of the homeless people he’d met and how alcoholism had disrupted their lives he said. The show was titled “On Our Own Terms” and highlighted several of the homeless people he once lived with.

His mother said artistic blood runs in their family. Carroll’s father and sister are artists as well. She said she knew always knew the talent was there. “He wasn’t a Boy Scout or in Little League. He was an artist,” said Frances. “He was curious about a lot of things, was creative and showed artistic talents then.”

Carroll’s current exhibition, “The Whipping Post”, borders on the area of experimentation because of the taboo nature of the subject matter. After learning that he is a descendant of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who signed the declaration of independence and owned over 1,000 slaves, he researched slave narratives and selected stories that he felt needed to be told Carroll said. Gallery visitors are drawn to the images by their beauty and interest but are then slammed with the truth and ugliness of slavery as they read the captions.

“At first I felt a little fearful because I wasn’t sure how they were going to be perceived,” said his wife Susan Carroll. “I thought people would show aggression toward him. He’s mild tempered, very non-violent or non-confrontational.” But Carroll said his work has been well received and believes that it is creating a forum for an important discussion.

Cjala Surratt, who works at the Community Folk Art Center where “The Whipping Post is on exhibit” agrees. “We’ve had people weeping,” Surratt said. We’ve had people clamouring for conversation after the film, after the lectures, they want to get together and figure out what happened in the past and how it effects the present.”

Carroll’s mother said his subject matter of social injustice is something he inherited from his father Walter. “His father was very much a crusader,” said Frances, “and Brantley has taken on that mantle as well.” Brantley holds fast to his beliefs and that steadfastness has caused him to loose some of his childhood friends. After visiting his old neighborhood, Carroll said he noticed that many of his friends “have views that are clearly bigoted and racist.”

“They have to consciously want to educate themselves to want to get over their stereo types,” Carroll said. “I could remember the time when I became socially conscious,” said Carroll, his freckled face turning sour. “When I read “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” in 10th grade, I felt like I was lied to in history or social studies classes.”

Being the non-confrontational, creative person that he is, Brantley decided to raise awareness about difficult social issues through his art Carroll said. “The best form of revenge is always success,” Carroll said. “Rather than fight about it, I’m just going to tell my version of these stories and get my message out there in a way that’s over-handed or underhanded.”

His wife, Susan, has always been there to support him, and has seen a real maturation in his art work in the last three years she said. “He has a real conceptual kind of a growth with his ideas. He can get a concept and spin it out in a lot of different ways,” said Susan. “He’s well read loves info, facts He’s a very big thinker, he talks about his idea he’s not afraid to share them.”

Carroll balances his artistic career, with his family of five daughters who range in ages from five to 18, and spending alone time with his wife he said. This fall, he plans on taking his wife to the famous Shack Up Inn in Mississippi to enjoy some blues, which is his favorite type of music. He’s very entertaining,” Susan said.

“He’s full of life and activity. He’s also very energetic. Because he’s so intense and passionate about many areas, good food, music, movies, and good art, he kind of thrives on that energy and brings that into his work. The more intense he gets, his work gets better & better.”

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