Visual Revelation
Sarah Barrick
Visual Revelation by Sarah Barrick
Upon first meeting Chester Higgins, he was wearing a cream suit with a blue shirt, a red beret and a pair of funky tennis shoes. Though the time was approaching for him to begin his lecture at the Atlanta History Museum, he took a moment to introduce himself to those in the front row. With the appearance of a confident African American male, I expected a firm handshake and a strong voice. His handshake was one of incredible strength, but his voice was soft and friendly. While he was being introduced, he took a seat next to his granddaughter and gave her a small gift from his pocket. It appeared that his entire family had come to hear him share his work with others. As Higgins began to speak, after an impressive introduction, it was clear to me that he was a citizen of the world. After growing up in a small town of 600 in Alabama, his travels have taken him all over Africa, Central America, and South America. On these travels he created a collection of photographs now published in a book entitled; Feeling the Spirit: Searching the World for the People of Africa. He shared these images with us and explained them with a clear knowledge of every place he had visited. Though Higgins is most well known for his three decades of photo journalistic work for The New York Times, I take him to be not only a photographer, but a historian and anthropologist as well. Though inspired by his travels, Higgins refers often to the importance of his experiences as a child. He attended segregated schools in the south and drew inspiration from his teachers, older relatives, and all the heroes and martyrs revealed to him through these people. His career in photojournalism grew out of his student years at Tuskegee University in Alabama during the late 1960’s. The civil rights movement kindled a political sense of purpose that became entwined in Higgins’ artistic expression. Higgins proclaims that most of his work is focused on the goal of making a visual record of the life and times of people of African descent. His mission is to combat stigmatized images that neglect to show decency, dignity and character in the experience of people of color. He agrees with me that in true form, he is a cultural anthropologist with a camera. Upon first visiting Africa, Higgins remarks that he was “…full of anticipation. Finally, I was to discover for myself the parallel black reality I had long nourished in my imagination. I was exhilarated at suddenly finding myself in the majority” (Higgins 2000). Though Higgins is known for this plight for African Americans, I think it is important to reveal that he is interested in people of various cultural backgrounds. His latest book, Elder Grace: The Nobility of Aging, is a collection of images of people who had to meet a set of specific guidelines. All of his subjects had to be over 70 years old with white hair. The most important prerequisite for his models was that they were required to have a countenance of dignity in their spirit and mental awareness in their eyes, or as Higgins put it: “Their eyes had to be connected to their minds.” Higgins created a vast collection of photographs of people from various cultural and religious
Kush, Meroe, Sudan
backgrounds who met this criteria. Unfortunately, because of his established reputation as an African American photographer as well as a photographer whose goals are associated with representing African Americans, the only publisher willing to produce Elder Grace required that the book was to only include his images of African Americans. This is very disappointing, especially because of the fact that the images Higgins captured for “Elder Grace” were meant to deal with issues of aging and societal representations of the elderly, not of African Americans. This censorship of his photography is intolerable. He is not strictly a photographer of African Americans. He is a photographer of the world who makes a strong connection to individuals of various ages, backgrounds, and cultural identities. Another fault in how Higgins is represented by others is of special concern to me. It seems to be ill mentioned that his photography is art, not just a political statement. The art aspect of his work seems only to be addressed by Higgins himself. While describing his “Elder Grace” imagery to the audience, it became clear to me that he paid attention to detail. Higgins has a very set way of making his photographs. Whenever possible, he is committed to as little manipulation as possible. Being introduced to me before his lecture as a ‘future photographer,’ Higgins addressed me while speaking of how he changed a woman’s hair before photographing her. He told me as though he felt guilty for altering the scene. Whenever possible, Higgins moves around his subjects and often speaks to them while photographing to make them feel more comfortable and to create a situation in which he is able to capture their inner light. Higgins uses Ilford film and shoots mostly with a Nikon. His equipment is not important to him in comparison to his vision. He thinks of the eye as a muscle which must remain in a constant state of training. He is a down to earth photographer who often works and travels with his family. For Elder Grace, his wife. Betsy Kissam, interviewed each of his subjects and his son worked as his lighting technician. Before the publication of his book, Higgins selected phrases from his wife’s interviews which he thought to be the best representation of character of each of his subjects. These phrases and quotations accompany the images in the book, Elder Grace, which also includes a forward by Maya Angelou. I am compelled to remain focused on the stereotype that has been placed on Chester Higgins and his work. While conducting further research on Higgins, the general focus of his career on African Americans became a greater realization. Though Higgins receives acknowledgment from and is able to exhibit at places such as the Smithsonian Institution and the New-York Historical Society, his work is most often shown at museums that have a marked focus on African Americans. I wonder why his images are never shown in a gallery setting. Perhaps this is an issue of Higgins’ supposed, intended audience. Higgins creates dramatic and dynamic imagery which attests to his ability to captivate the viewer into making a connection with the subject. His work goes beyond being aesthetically pleasing, as I have mentioned before. For this reason, I believe fully that Higgins’ work should be shown in museums
Ohbeeb, New York City
Skyline, Upper East Side, New York
and historical societies, but I wonder why they couldn’t be equally appreciated on the walls of contemporary galleries. This issue of intended audience makes reference to a contemporary critic’s view of the gallery world: When these perceived characteristics of gallery audiences and spaces are combined with the “educated” gallery-goer’s expectation that modern art will provide her/him with a “purely” aesthetic experience, there is little likelihood that gallery audiences expect or are willing to participate in a communal experience that demands they rethink social categories...(Grover). As Grover addresses, there is an existing stereotype that “gallery-goers” are not capable of thought beyond formal aesthetics. This assumption is insulting and ignorant. There is a much stronger focus on conceptual ideas and social issues within the walls of contemporary galleries than many critics believe. Those who visit galleries are just as capable as those who visit museums and historical societies of “rethinking social categories.” Higgins presents the ability to do so with his illustrious and beautiful images of the elderly. He challenges social and commercial stereotypes, which suggest that signs of aging must be masked and youthful beauty must be maintained. Higgins believes that the lines on our faces tell a story of wisdom and experience. With the use of lighting that creates a tactile, sensual feeling, Higgins captures the beauty of the aging body in subtle details. While exploring the differences between gallery and museum settings, I was confronted by another issue. Though it seems to be assumed that those visiting a museum will have either prior or provided knowledge of the work they’re viewing, it seems important to establish the fact that this depends on the museum being visited. Establishments labeled as museums may not necessarily provide their visitors with information from an educated staff. Even so, a knowledgeable staff does not ensure an unrestricted view of what is on display. It is important to understand, that no matter how many facts we are provided with, we are still, to some notable level, locked into our own cultural views. Museums in the past were supported by the wealthy and displayed only those things that promoted their views. Museums today must strive to move past this history and represent objects and images in a non-biased light. This does not, however, mean presenting them strictly as art objects. Cosmopolitan museums often encounter this problem, while some smaller cultural centers find a successful balance and are able to embody challenges to authority from ethnic, local, and regional sources. Because my focus here is primarily on Higgins, I decided to ask him whether he preferred galleries or museums. Because of my confusion towards his intended audience, I wanted to know if his work was shown mostly in museums at his request. Chester explained to me that he prefers museums: “They often times offer the ability to do a solo show on your own works. At other times their curators have ideas to build a show that highlights the seminal importance of photography. They sometimes have a production Renee Chin, Brooklyn, New York
budget that allows you to make great prints and not worry about the cost. Generally, their shows often last longer, so one hopes to reach a larger audience.” These factors of focus, time, and budget are properly considered by Higgins. His aversion to galleries is based purely on business reasons. He seems more concerned with sharing his work and the importance of photography with as many people as possible, regardless of the politics of the venue. I take this research and the simple answer I received to my question of intended audience as a lesson. While the local galleries that I’m accustom to visiting provide the community with a variety of contemporary art work, they are limited in their ability to present me with everything I am interested in absorbing. Higgins has taught me to keep this in mind. I must seek out artwork in all venues by keeping my eyes open and active in order to discover other artist’s work as well as my own.
Selected Bibliography Barrick, Sarah K. E-mail interview of Chester Higgins. Atlanta, Georgia, 17 November 2002. Grover, Jan Zita. “Dykes in Context: Some Problems in Minority Representation.” The Contest of Meaning: Critical Histories of Photography (1989): 163-203. Higgins, Chester. “Through the Camera.” Aiken Lecture at the Atlanta History Center, 9 October 2002. Higgins, Chester. “Pilgrimage to the Past.” Archaeology 53 (2000): 3-4. Karp, Ivan, Steven D. Lavine, eds. “Exhibiting Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display.” Smithsonian Institution, 1991. Keller, Judith. “Divine Works in Progress: The Elder Grace of Chester Higgins Jr.” Aging Today 47 (2000): 17-18. Rexer, Lyle. “Chester Higgins Jr.’s Photographs: A Closer Look at Age,” The New York Times, 25, February 2001, sec. 1D, p. 2. George and Lettice Winsor, The Bronx, New York