<I>Calvin</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1999
name: label: Photograph by
content: Rashid Johnson, American, born 1977
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
notes: label: Caption
content: Rashid Johnson created the portrait Calvin as part of his first photo series, Seeing in the Dark. He wanted the series to document a group of men from Chicago whom Johnson prefers to speak of as "in transition," instead of by the dehumanizing label "homeless." These intimate portraits challenge the viewer to see the men as individuals, with distinct personalities and lives. The effect is to lift the veil of invisibility that allows our society to marginalize and dismiss these people as the "undeserving poor." The portrait of Calvin reveals a man whose dignity has not been tarnished by the circumstance of his life. His religion is presented as a central component of his identity, as demonstrated by the prominent display of his cross.
label: Description
content: A brown-and-white photograph portrait of a man using the Vandyke brown printing process. The man looks into the camera, holding his right hand at his neck, while a crucifix worn on a necklace rests on his hand. Outside the upper and lower borders of the printed image are brush strokes of the paper coating solution, from priming the paper prior to initiating the printing process. The work is signed [AP] at the recto lower left corner. Recto at bottom right in pencil is [Rashid Johnson]. The photograph is matted and framed.
place: label: Place captured
content: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Christianity
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Poverty
label: Topic
content: Religion
label: Topic
content: Urban life
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: The "Seeing in the Dark" series
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jumaane Ekundayo N'Namdi, N'Namdi Contemporary
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.184
objectType: label: Type
content: photographic prints
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Rashid Johnson, Courtesy of the artist, Hauser & Wirth, and David Kordansky Gallery
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Van Dyke print (silver image on paper)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (frame): 40 3/4 × 33 × 7/8 in. (103.5 × 83.8 × 2.2 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (sheet): 30 1/2 × 22 7/8 in. (77.5 × 58.1 cm)