To Make Their Own Way in the World
Subtitle: the Enduring Legacy of the Zealy Daguerreotypes
Publisher: Aperture Foundation, Incorporated; Aperture
Published: 2020
Language: eng
Number of pages: 448
ISBN-13: 9781597114783
Description: "To Make Their Own Way in the World is a profound consideration of some of the most challenging images in the early history of photography. The fifteen daguerreotypes-made in 1850 by photographer Joseph T. Zealy portray Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem, and Renty, men and women of African descent who were enslaved in South Carolina. Since 1976, when the daguerreotypes were rediscovered at Harvard University's Peabody Museum, the photographs have been the subject of intense and widespread study. To Make Their Own Way in the World features essays by prominent scholars who explore topics ranging from the photographs' historical context and the "science" of race to the ways in which photography created a visual narrative of slavery and its effects. Multidisciplinary, deeply collaborative, and with more than two hundred illustrations, including new photography by contemporary artist Carrie Mae Weems, this book frames the Zealy daguerreotypes as works of urgent engagement"--