BLACK PORTRAITURE[S]: THE BLACK BODY IN THE WEST – THE PARIS CONFERENCE REVISITED

With the charm and beauty of the City of Paris as a backdrop the conference “BLACK PORTRAITURE[S]: THE BLACK BODY IN THE WEST” opened a few months ago with attendance by scholars, artists, writers, and students from throughout the Western World. Hosted by three centers of art and education in the city of Paris the homogenous blend of art and architecture provided the perfect atmosphere. The conference centered on the 111 papers presented by distinguished scholars in 19 panels  over a four day period to an audience of over 500 attendees from Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Panel discussions were held according to the following schedule beginning on January 17, 2013:

Thursday –         Ecole Nationale Superioeure Des Beaux-Arts

Friday                Universite Paris Diderot – Paris 7,

Saturday           Musee du Quai Branly

Sunday             Musee du Quai Branly.

One of the most impactful outcomes of the conference in retrospect, was that it brought such a large group of artists and scholars from across the diaspora as it exists throughout the Western World, into personal contact and lively conversation with each other in a way that would, perhaps not have happened otherwise. This conversation centered on the way the Black Body is represented and has been represented historically in visual and performance arts in the West. The view of the evolution of these various representations of the Black Body provides an unequaled depiction of the progress that has been made from the distant past to the present. More profoundly however, the ability to meet, share, and discuss these representations allows one to clearly see points, times, and places where intervention is urgently required to provide corrections to the historical narrative. As data has become more readily available to this rapidly growing community it is increasingly possible to turn intellectual and other resources to the objective study and examination of the historical data. This process and these discussions make graphically evident how racial bias and bigotry has systematically caused misrepresentations and distortions of reality and thereby negatively influenced the visual representation of The Black Body. Objective scholarship focused on the re-examination of the historical narrative as it pertains to representations of the Black Body is required to ‘set the record straight’ and to provide a sound basis for the intercultural discussions that must take place with the wider world if there is to be a better future.

The conference is over but the dialogue is energized throughout the diaspora and continues at a high level among conferees who have now returned to their respective worlds. In an effort to support this continuing conversation I propose to profile each of the panel participants from the conference by providing some background and a brief discussion of each panel topic as presented at the conference.

 I begin with a discussion of the work and times of Legendary Ghanaian photographer James Barnor.

JAMES BARNOR – PHOTOGRAPHER

Barnor was the first staff photographer employed by the Daily Graphic newspaper when it was established in The Gold Coast in 1950 by Cecil King of the London Daily Mirror Group. This was a pivotal period in the development of the country that would become Ghana seven years later.  After the 1948 Accra riots Kwame Nkrumah was arrested along with five other activists (the big six) who had  been advocating independence from England and the end to colonial  rule in the African continent. From this point forward the country was in transition towards independence. Barnor’s early portraitures and street photographs provide a visual history of the development of Ghana from the colonial period through independence and into the modern era. This early work covers the birth of Ghana and includes photographs of Kwame Nkrumah, the future president of Ghana , The Duchess of Kent, Richard Nixon, Andrew Young and many other politicians who visited Ghana in that period.

Barnor moved to London in 1959 in order to study photography in a more formal setting. In London Barnor learned the techniques of color processing. He perfected these techniques doing work as a street photographer providing works in the ‘Black Lifestyle’ genre. During this period London was rapidly becoming a center for a new cultural revolution. Music, art, and fashion took the city by storm.  The fashion world was ablaze and models were making millions. There was little interest however in the black lifestyle.  Unable to get work as models notwithstanding black women were major trendsetters on London streets in their mini skirts, high heels and hair styles. Drum magazine an anti-apartheid South African  magazine, had grown from its’ inception in Johannesburg in the early 50’s, to become one of the most widely read magazines in Africa.  Drum was very interested in photographs with black models and news about Africans generally. Barnor had done work for Drum in Ghana and had contacts there.

In South Africa Drum was the only publication that described the world of the urban black in the townships.  The magazine employed the new generation of writers and photographers… urbanized Africans who had been freed or escaped from the tribal reserves. These men were widely read ex soldiers returned home from World War II. They were fast talking hipsters who were irreverent, satirical, and addicted to a lifestyle that included heavily chromed american cars, jazz music, and freedom. The magazine developed a reputation for dealing with social issues that affected black people in South Africa. The work that these writers and photographers produced  at Drum changed the way that Black people were represented in society.   Drum has been described by photographer Peter Magubane as “a different home; it did not have apatheid. There was no discrimination in the offices of Drum magazine. It was only when you left Drum and entered the world outside of the main door that you knew you were in apartheid land.” As the magazine grew and became more in demand across the continent it required more and more content.  This created a demand  for the work of other Black writers, photographers, and their models. During this period (the ‘London period’) Barnor recruited, discovered and photographed models  to fill this demand.  As the fight against apartheid intensified the editors of Drum were forced to resign under pressure from the National Police or to leave the Country to escape arrest.  Drum magazine virtually disappeared for a time. The ANC ultimately succeeded in abolishing apartheid with the establishment of a new government.  Drum has since reestablished itself and is now once again one of the leading magazines on the continent.

James Barnor returned to Ghana in 1969 and worked there for the following 24 years as a professional photographer. During this period Barnor became the official African representative for Agfa-Gevaert (at the time the leading company for imaging technology), worked for the American embassy, and various Ghanaian government agencies and eventually for President J. J. Rawlings.  In 1994 James Barnor returned to London where he now lives.

On June 6, 2013 James Barnor had his 83rd birthday.  Happy Birthday Mr. Barnor!!Mr. Barnor has spent 63 years of his life creating and helping others to create representations of the Black Body.  His  work, its impact and consequences are loud testimony to the importance of the quality of the representations that are made.  It was a pleasure to meet and talk to him at the Black Portraitures conference.

  James Barnor has been exhibited in the UK, US, France, Ghana and South Africa.

BLACK PORTRAITURE[S]: THE BLACK BODY IN THE WEST
Event Organizers: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Deborah Willis, Manthia Diawara, Jean-Paul Colleyn, Lydie Diakhate, Awam Amkpa, Chery Finley, Anne-Christine Taylor-Descola, Anna Laban, Christine Barthe, Caroline Montel-Glenisson, Raissa Laheine, Thelma Golden, and Nicholas Bourriaud