By Kathleen Reid
“The most gratifying part of this exhibition is hearing visitors comment on how much they were missing a full history of photography,” says Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at VMFA. “My dream would be that it becomes a standard part of the curriculum in this country.” She is passionate about telling the story of the Kamoinge Workshop, a collective of black photographers formed in 1963 in New York City whose name means “coming together.” The first major exhibition to focus on the collective, Working Together: Louis Draper and Kamoinge Workshop shows the work of fifteen artists and documents the group’s first twenty years. In an exclusive Canvas event, Sarah gave members an in-depth look at these iconic photographs and discussed how this important part of history is gaining the recognition it deserves.
Sarah emphasized that Louis Draper was well-known and respected in the field of photography; he was a very influential artist of his time. He was included in Deborah Willis’ groundbreaking book, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers from 1840 to the Present, the first ever comprehensive history of black photographers. Louis Draper died in 2002 shortly after the book’s release.
For Sarah, her connection to Louis Draper began in 2012 when Nell Draper-Winston, sister of Louis Draper, brought an organized suitcase containing his body of work to VMFA. Sarah explains, “The images were strong, powerful, and iconic. I had a feeling it was something that I should have known and yet, I didn’t know at the time.”
In March 2017, VMFA received a federal grant to digitize and create an archive of the Richmond native’s entire collection of photographs. The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the money so his legacy could be preserved and shared to a worldwide audience. Draper essentially earned his reputation by photographing the everyday life of black Americans during the Civil Rights era.
During the Canvas tour, Dr. Eckhardt highlighted Draper’s photograph entitled Congressional Gathering, 1959. She says, “It is a very powerful photograph.” Having studied Draper’s private college notebooks, Sarah explained how there was violent Ku Klux Klan activity during this time in the south. “While Virginia was not a violent state, it was the legal epicenter for the battle against integration. The sheets look like KKK robes.” In Eckhardt’s view, Draper seemed to be commenting upon the ways in which elected officials were enforcing racism by voting for segregation. The photograph hints at the violence coming from elected officials through their rhetoric.
In the gallery, the civil rights photos are juxtaposed with a series of images chronicling the rise of jazz music in America. To the Kamoinge photographers, jazz and photography were fused together in an unbreakable bond. The jazz musician represented the ultimate success of artistic and racial achievement. Sarah talked about the photographs of Ming Smith and Beuford Smith. Ming Smith said, “Making something out of nothing . . . I think that’s like jazz.”
The exhibition is accompanied by a full catalogue featuring essays by Eckhardt and other scholars. “The goal of the exhibition catalogue,” Sarah concludes, “was to create a full resource book that gives a record of these talented black photographers.”
Following its display at VMFA, Working Together: Louis Draper and Kamoinge Workshop is scheduled to travel to the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Kathleen Reid is the Communications Co-Chairman of the CANVAS Advisory Committee.