From 1963 to the present day, Anthony Barboza has enjoyed a long career in photography. One of the most important African American photographers of his generation, Barboza has excelled at capturing his subjects both on the street and in the studio. He began his informal training in New York City. In these early days of Barboza’s interest in photography, he was introduced to The Kamoinge Workshop, now Kamoinge, Inc., a network of professional photographers addressing the under-representation of black photographers in the art world.
In his Black Borders portrait series, currently on view in New York, Barboza photographed artists of all forms. This includes poets, painters, athletes, musicians, and more. “I lit and painted the backgrounds according to how I felt about the person,” Barboza told the New York Times in 2009. “You’ll see my feelings in my photographs. It’s also about me.”
His experimentation with lighting and determination to capture emotion in his images are prevalent throughout this work. In an Oral History interview with the Smithsonian, Barboza discussed the importance of lighting in these photographs: “First, it started with lighting. Each person had a different type of lighting on their portrait.” The dramatic illumination and textured backgrounds create dramatic, high-contrast compositions.
There is a clear dialogue between photographer and subject in these portraits. The full-frame, square format prints quite literally display the black borders of the film used to capture these images. In this interview, Barboza explained: “When you put the black borders together, there’s no end and no beginning. There’s no line there. That meant that each one of these people would relate in some ways to the others and also relate to me… So it’s about a blending together of all the art forms that meant something to me.”
Anthony Barboza, Black Borders
January 18 to March 10, 2018
Keith de Lellis Gallery
41 E 57th St Suite 703
New York, NY 10022
USA
