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March 1: Week in Photography
Your lens to the internet's most powerful photographs. 📸 Most Powerful Photo of the Week 📸 Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images On Monday, people paid their respects to Kobe and Gianna Bryant during their public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Perhaps the most emotional and moving moment of the ceremony came when Vanessa Bryant, wife of Kobe and mother of Gianna, took the stage to share her words and memories of the loved ones she lost.
For most of us, to suffer such tremendous loss would be incredibly difficult at the least. This picture catches Bryant, in an amazing show of strength, wiping a tear from her cheek as she regains her composure during the memorial service and carries on as millions of viewers watch from across the globe.
📸For Your 👀 Only: Curating Histories With Gen Z at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston The exhibition Black Histories, Black Futures at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston features work exclusively by artists of color from John Axelrod’s collection, including well-known names like photographer James Van Der Zee. The show was curated by teens as a part of a partnership program between MFA and local youth groups. The show is the centerpiece of the yearlong 150th-anniversary celebration at the museum and offers a unique experience for local kids to learn about art and curation under the guidance of Layla Bermeo, one of the museum's associate curators.
We spoke with two of the teens Jen Rosa, a senior, and Armani Rivas, a junior, about their experience in the program, which resulted in two sections, Normality Facing Adversity, curated by Rivas, and Smile in the Dark, curated by Rosa, examining photographs and works on paper from before and after the Civil Rights Movement.
What motivated you to join this program at MFA Boston?
Jen Rosa: I wasn’t aware I was going to attend this program. I was at the right place at the right time.
Armani Rivas: I was given this opportunity through a program called Becoming a Man (BAM). This is a school-based counseling program for young men of color, teaching them and preserving the values as they transition from a boy to a man. My BAM counselor, Rashaan Powell, insisted this will be a great opportunity for me and my brother, Jadon Smith. I trusted Mr. Powell and embarked on this experience.
Dawoud Bey courtesy of MFA Boston
Is there an image or piece of art that got you interested in art in the first place?
AR: I had no prior experience in art or interest in a specific artist, but I did like art by Banksy and Basquiat, though I had never studied these artists. It was just through scrolling on Instagram that I had seen their work.
What is the most interesting thing that you learned about curation?
JR: The most interesting thing I learned about curating is that it’s not always about what you want and that there are people above you that have to like your idea as well.
AR: The most interesting thing I learned about curation was being able to create and develop stories of my own, and show them to the world basically. It was important for me to tell stories for the unheard and the people who lack voice because of structural biases and racism.
Do you have a favorite artist or photographer in the show?
JR: My favorite artist in my show is definitely Richard Yarde and my favorite photographer is Dawoud Bey.
AR: My favorite photographer is James Van Der Zee, specifically his photograph of the 369th Regiment, based in Harlem, acting out a funeral service for their fellow soldier. The striking point in the photo is the word “DYEING” on top, a word to describe the act of dyeing clothes. Hence there is a dye shop next door. This made me wonder, did Van Der Zee capture this as a coincidence or was this an insight into the African Americans dying during the war and in our country?
James Van Der Zee courtesy of MFA Boston What drew you to these three images specifically?
JR: The simple fact that Black people were illustrated or photographed in a happy state. Countering most narratives of Black lives.
Can you tell me more about the name, Smile in the Dark?
JR: I created this name to shine a light on positive imagery of Black people instead of all the negative stuff you see in textbooks or in our history.
AR: The images in Normality Facing Adversity provided striking photos of African Americans being normal and trying to live life during a time of imposed hardships in America.
Gordon Parks courtesy of MFA Boston
📸This Week's Photo Stories from BuzzFeed News 📸 Our final photo feature for Black History Month comes to us from photographer and filmmaker St. Clair Detrick-Jules, whose new photobook Dear Khloe: Love Letters to My Little Sister, was inspired by her younger sister Khloe's experience of being bullied at school for her natural hair. To show her younger sister that she's perfect the way she is, Detrick-Jules created a series of portraits and quotes that capture the experiences of black women today as they navigate the cultural stereotypes that are often applied to their hair.
With some of us still recovering from Fat Tuesday, we've put together a fascinating look back at Mardi Gras in New Orleans through rare and historic pictures dating as far back as the 19th century. Lastly, we say a final goodbye to Kobe and Gianna Bryant with a gallery capturing the emotional scene at their public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday.
Find more of the week's best photo stories here.
Natural Beauty: Finding Love and Empowerment in Hair St. Clair Detrick-Jules "The love of the women in my book for themselves, for their hair, and for their communities radiates off of them, and this love, I hope, comes across in these photos." SEE THE FULL STORY
Dancing in the Streets: A Visual History of Mardi Gras Bettmann Archive / Getty Images Since Louisiana's first recorded Mardi Gras in 1699, revelers have celebrated this iconic Lenten tradition with vibrant parades, costumes, food, and music. SEE THE FULL STORY
An Emotional Goodbye: Kobe and Gianna Bryant's Public Memorial Lucy Nicholson / Reuters Thousands of people paid their respects to Kobe and Gianna Bryant during their public memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
📸Your Weekly Palate Cleanser 📸 Robert F. Bukaty / AP Photo Like Elsa's ice palace in Disney's Frozen or perhaps a frigid monument to the wrath of winter, this chilly picture comes to us from the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, on Feb. 23. Here, Douglas Ciampi of Westminster, Massachusetts, poses for what might be the coldest portrait of his life in front of an ice-covered antenna atop the Northeast's highest peak.
"That's it from us this time — see you next week!" —Gabriel and Kate “For me, the camera is a sketchbook, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity.” ―Henri Cartier-BressonWant More? Go To JPG Homepage
📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Gabriel Sanchez is the photo essay editor based in New York and loves cats. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. You can always reach us here.
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