Presentation of...

A Khyheem Finley

The Life and Photos of...

James Van Der Zee By

Khyheem Finley

James Augustus Van Der Zee Born June 29th, 1886 & Died May 15th, 1983 born in Lenox, Massachusetts

Van Der Zee & Career Path...

“James Van Der Zee started early in photography as he took pictures for his high school. When he married Kate Brown in 1907 they moved to Virginia, where he worked as a photographer at the Hampton Institute. The couple moved back to New York in 1908 after their first child, there he worked a couple of jobs. Later ,James went to New Jersey was able to get a job as a darkroom assistant for department store. In 1916 he opened his own Harlem studio and named it Guarantee Photo. “He later went on to renamed his studio “GGG Studio” which he named after his second wife, Gaynella Greenlee”.

Career Photos...

Van Der Zee & Era...

The era James had the pleasure of working in was the roaring 20’s(1920) and the 30’s(1930). Any and everything was booming at these time era music, clothing and yes even photography was a thriving industry. His work consist of photos of the great poet Countee Cullen, also the dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. He also worked funerary photography between the world wars 1 and 2, Those works soon after were collected by “The Harlem Book of the Dead”.

Era Photos...

Der Van Zee & Motavation...

What motivated the great photojournalist was when he obtained his first camera at the age of fourteen because of a magazine promotion. The interest turned into hundreds of photos of his family and the town of Lenox, Massachusetts where he was born. Luckily he was one of the first people in his town to own an actual camera so he was able to make a unique and fairly new documentation of community life in his small town in New England.

Family, Motivation...

Van Der Zee & Technology...

In his time era there was not much of anything, It was after the collodion processes and before color and advanced cameras. Van Der Zee had to work with darkrooms and negatives, also one of the first cameras to be made. The camera took photos but had to be developed.

Technology...

Van Der Zee & Ethics

Besides racism still alive and kicking which possibly made him photograph only african american life and living situations, the great depression was a great factor as well. Around 1932 his business struggled through the Depression, the demand for professional photographers. It made them have to moved to a less-expensive studio. Personal cameras had to become more available and Van Der Zee had to shoot passport pictures and do other odd photographic jobs.

Ethics...

Van Der Zee & Bias...

You could say James Van Der Zee was bias in his work because of the fact that his work was mainly of African American culture in Harlem around the 1920’s to the 1930’s and a little bit later. He did not photograph white America.

Harlem Bias...

Van Der Zee & Physical Style...

Texture is greatly used here because you can see the fine detailing in the fabric in the casket also in the flag. Detailing is seen in the flowers as well.

Physical Style...

Shadow casting is visible in this portrait immensely, you can see the light illuminating from the front of the women in the photo and casting a shadow in back of her.

Physical Style...

The rule of third is not used properly in this photo because the man is in the middle of the image, nothing special it could be better if he was off to one of the sides.

Physical Style...

Expression in this photo is serious, the man is chained up and looks like he is a slave and very unhappy about it. It gives off a bad vibe as if African Americans are slaves in America that is what it symbolizes to me.

The Impact...

After Van Der Zee died in 1983 at the age of 96, he left behind an enormous legacy of photographs so enticing and compelling that it was hard to see Harlem through any other eyes. "According to McGhee, a photo researcher in the article, "you will not see the common images of black Americans and downtrodden rural or urban citizens. Instead, you will see a people of great pride and fascinating beauty".

Major comparison...

The aspect of showing the world something they have seen but in a new light or expressing yourself and or culture to the public can compare to my new media major. As a new media major I have uptain many skills in the realms of photography, news broadcasting and media in itself, I can, just light James Der Van Zee express and reveal to the general public my work and knowledge that I have to enlighten them and show them things they may not have seen before. My major and Der Van Zee’s work both inform the viewers of our work, what is happening, what emotion is being felt and so much more just by viewing it.

Viewpoints...

I do not believe there was any mixed feelings or views on James Der Van Zee’s work everyone pretty much had and still have the same views on his photographs. His work around 1968 was "discovered" by a photo researcher named Reginald McGhee happened to stumble on to Der Van Zee’s collection of 75,000 photos covering six decades of African American life. The New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art featured his work in an exhibit called "Harlem On My Mind," and just like that James Van Der Zee became nationally recognized. In the early 1980s, 60 years after the Harlem Renaissance, celebrities such as Bill Cosby, Muhammad Ali, and Lou Rawl wanted a portrait done by James.