bits and bobbins

time magazine: class pictures

i am mesmerized and moved by this collection of formal photographs of american teens by photographer dawoud bey, which are part of his new book, class pictures (featured on the time magazine website). bey shot and interviewed the diverse group of high schoolers over the course of 15 years, spending approximately three weeks at each school. the honest, heartfelt words of the teens are the perfect accompaniment to his stunning portraiture…the whole project has a feeling of realness and the results are incredibly poignant: some of the children have faced fatal illnesses, discrimination, and the tragic death of loved ones, and have come out the other side with a deep sense of wisdom. many exhibit more than their fair share of intelligence.

***

upon pondering bey’s photos in some depth, it occurred to me why i love this direct style of portraiture more than any other: i am most moved by a photograph of a person when a subject faces the camera directly, unwaveringly.

it is the very same thing i love about some strains of street fashion photography (in the style of fruits, fashioni.st, hel-looks, and a few others).

sometimes, i just want to see something for what it truly is. i like the idea of a photograph being a simple, direct document of the thing or the person. i don’t always need the frills of posing or an overabundance of affectations and drama.

January 28 2008 | Posted in amazing art, check this out!, culture-vulture, street fashion, this inspires me!

1. January 28 2008 at 5:05 pm

   Annika

   What an amazing series of photographs. The style reminds me so much of my father’s photography. You might like his series of portraits of waitresses: http://www.downtownwaitressproject.com/

   
   

2. January 28 2008 at 7:33 pm

   Kirsten

   Wow! These are really stunning. I work in youth development and it’s so nice to see a mass-market media outlet emphasizing the resilience and powerful smarts of today’s young people. So much of the time, the media and (therefore) many adults repeat negative stereotypes about teens and young people without really knowing them, talking to them, learning about their perspectives. Great link!

   
   

3. January 28 2008 at 8:19 pm

   jennifer

   i am in perfect agreeance with you. i have explained this exact thing to my sister not too long ago.

   
   

4. January 28 2008 at 8:29 pm

   annie

   last year i went to the contemporary jewish museum in SF and saw a few of the portraits in person. they are really cool to see in person and i enjoyed hearing their stories

   
   

5. January 28 2008 at 9:23 pm

   Jennifer

   Whoa! I went to college with the girl in the last picture.

   
   

6. January 28 2008 at 10:54 pm

   Through The Looking Glass » Blog Archive » Class Pictures

   [...] I am blown away by these portraits of high school students by Dawoud Bey. They remind me of my father’s style of photograph: no unnecessary glamour, just people. Via Tricia Royal. [...]

   
   

7. January 29 2008 at 12:27 am

   Leilani

   How funny, Dawoud Bey is going to be my professor this semester… I’m currently a graduate student of photography at Columbia College Chicago where he teaches. I didn’t realize he was in Time recently, I’ll have to pick up a copy!

   
   

8. January 29 2008 at 3:54 pm

   darla - zoogal

   trisha… wow. those portraits are really wonderful. for someone who struggled/struggles with self esteem issues my whole life, it’s VERY hard for me to look into the camera directly. i put my head down/look down a lot. the more self portraits i do, however, i am getting a little bit better about looking into the camera - but usually there is a “prop” somewhere in front of my face. it sounds like these kids, like you said, had their share of hard times, so why am i letting something like poor self esteem get in my way? this post was very eye-opening and inspirational. thank you. and i am going to remember this as well when i shoot portraits of others. there is one portrait i did of my dad and daughter that is just amazingly lovely, and it is them, looking straight into the camera, no frills. it’s one of my favorites.

   
   

9. January 30 2008 at 11:01 am

   laura

   this looks and sounds great. i can absolutely imagine it’s moving to see their life stories.