Salute to A Master
Roy DeCarava. Photographer. Legend
Monday, November 2, 2009
by E. Ethelbert Miller
It doesn't have to be pretty to be true. But if it's true its beautiful. Truth is beautiful.
And so my whole work is about what amounts to a reverence for life itself.
- Roy DeCarava
Excerpt from The New York Times (October 29, 2009):
Over a career of almost 60 years, Mr. DeCarava - who fiercely guarded the manner in which his work was exhibited and whose visibility in the art world remained low for decades - came to be regarded as the founder of a school of African American photography that broke with the social documentary traditions of his time. While an outspoken crusader for civil right, he felt that his pictures would speak louder as a record of black life in America if they abandoned the overtly humanist aims of mentors like Edward Steichen.
In the early seventies I happened to be on the Amtrak train with my friend Tom Terrell. Tom, who was a photographer for Howard University's school newspaper, recognized Mr. DeCarava. I didn't know who DeCarava was then, but he was warm and conversational to Tom and I. It was the only time I would see or meet this great man. But being a lover of the poetry and work of Langston Hughes, I soon discovered THE SWEET FLYPAPER OF LIFE. This book, published when I was five years old, is simply amazing. I love how the words and images of Hughes and DeCarava capture black life. There are levels and degrees of dignity on every page. Here is our urban narrative, our street blues, our joys, pain and endurance. Here is Sister Mary Bradley - our elder and black pillar of life. I love her on the last page standing proud in good clothes and sporting an awesome hat. Take a look - find yourself a copy of THE SWEET FLYPAPER OF LIFE.
Thank you, Roy DeCarava, for showing us life - in shadows and light.
