Rashod Taylor is the recipient of the 2021 Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture, a $20,000 prize awarded annually by Maine Media Workshops + College to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photographic portraiture.
Taylor’s award-winning work entitled Little Black Boy–modeled in part after a family photo album–offers not only a window into his family story, but also into the Black American experience. Implied in the title, Taylor pays particular attention to the relationship between father and son in his series. “As I document my son, I am interested in examining his childhood and the world he navigates. At the same time, these images show my own unspoken anxiety and fragility as it pertains to the wellbeing of my son and fatherhood,” explains Taylor. “He can’t live a carefree childhood as he deserves; there is a weight that comes with his blackness, a weight that he is not ready to bear.”
Examining Themes of Race, Culture, Family, and Legacy, Taylor’s Intimate Work Will Be on View at The Griffin Museum Through October 24, 2021
