Inauguration Day 2017...

Inauguration day has passed and Donald trump is in the White House. Yes; it was a sad day for the millions that voted against him/for Hillary. Protests went on around Washington DC, the rest of the country and across the free world. I do understand that Mr. Putin and Mr. Netanyahu were pleased. Politics make for strange bedfellows and “the enemy of my enemy is my friend…”

I personally chose to dress in all black for the occasion. My fashion statement did not go unnoticed. I received a number of comments from my co-workers, friends and associates on my job. Many were amused and there were actually smiles and laughter in response to my effort.

Trump’s term as president is potentially dangerous for the United States and the world. In the midst of it all we must; as Michelle Obama said during the campaign “…they go low, we go high.” I was and am immeasurably happy to see the tremendous number of protests (world-wide) especially the peaceful ones. “Civil Disobedience” is a beautiful and necessary thing. The potential injustices and wrongs that Trump can inflict are too numerous to mention in a single blog. We have to express our disapproval of the presidency of an ignorant man elected possessing no character, hatred, bile, bigotry and unlimited personal greed.   

We will survive Donald J. Trump and there is the potential for a better world beyond the Trump years. Trump’s election is a “wake up call” indeed a call to action. Many have already heeded and righteousness will ultimately prevail.  

JAMES VAN DER ZEE His Photographic Legacy

If there is one luminary among the greats of African-American photography (including the likes of; Gordon Parks, Carrie Mae Weems and Moneta Sleet Jr) it is James Van Der Zee that could be considered the “Father of the Form.” Van Der Zee was a major and respected force truly in all of American photography for the entirety of his professional career. He was part of and centered the Harlem Renaissance as he chronicled events and personal moments. The black & white images he captured and created are rich and rewarding. 

                                                                                                                     
         


















Van Der Zee was primarily a portrait photographer. His subjects included the wealthy and famous along with local residents of New York’s Harlem. He showcased beauty, elegance and confidence in his subjects. He also; when he deemed necessary, used dark room techniques to enhance his pieces giving an artistic and many times haunting quality to the works. Van Der Zee was dedicated and wholly committed in the best traditions that he helped invent.

His subjects were always given his best accompanied with a sense of joy that remains evident in the work. Van Der Zee loved what he did with his life and work; it was his gift and we his beneficiaries; the recipient of those gifts. These things we treasure are the result of much work and calculation. Van Der Zee as all great artists’ made the results look easy but they come of course with the calculated effort of his eye and technical skill. Vander Zee is; the brilliant artist of “The Ages” of the eternal.