Local Black Photographers Explore Theme of Family

from Intersections Premiere Issue - Jan. 19, 2021

People & Purpose

**“Silence is Not an Option” by Owens Daniels.**

**“Laundry Day” by Owens Daniels.Bobby Roebuck**

THE BLACK FAMILY: REPRESENTATION, IDENTITY AND DIVERSITY is this year’s theme for Black History Month. Forsyth County Public Library’s exhibit “Representation, Identity and Diversity” presents the work of two local African American photographers who explore culture and identity in their art.

This exhibit is a project of the Library’s Read to Right Wrongs Initiative, which encourages the community to use the library’s programs, services and resources to inform and educate themselves about the various challenges society is facing.

Owens Daniels is a photographer based in Winston-Salem. He often explores the struggles of ordinary people as they deal with power structures. Daniels studies the photographs he has taken, looking to discover what subconscious messages present themselves. He uses digital art techniques to bring out the message, seeking to create an image that will say something to every viewer.

Artists are solitary people, Daniels said, but early in his life, family played a role in helping him discover his artistic talents. As a child he was sometimes sent to his room with only books for company. One day he made a drawing. When he showed it to his mother, she praised it and put it on the refrigerator for the family to see. His father, a man of few words, looked at him and said, “Son, good job.” We can spend our lives trying to recreate that kind of a moment, Daniels said. Bobby Roebuck is a Winston-Salem photographer with a deep connection to smooth jazz, particularly the diverse community of primarily African American and Latino musicians. He shoots photographs at jazz festivals around the country and characterizes his photographs as capturing what the audience didn’t see.

**October 2019 at the All-American Jazz Festival in Fayetteville, N.C., in the Festival Park Amphitheatre. (left to right): Marcus Anderson, Brian Culbertson and Patches Stewart. Photo by Bobby Roebuck.**

“I HEAR WITH MY EYES AND SEE WITH MY EARS.”

Roebuck’s early training was in drawing and painting, but photography’s ability to wow the viewer, and the artist, propelled him toward the camera to capture the intensity and passion of the performers that captivated him. Roebuck is not a musician he said, but he is attuned to the musicians he is photographing, using their rhythm and phrasing to guide him to the right moment to take the shot. “I hear with my eyes and see with my ears,” he said. When Roebuck speaks of family influence and support, he gives his wife, Twana, credit for playing a vital role in encouraging him. He also feels a great responsibility to the next generation. As an African American father to a daughter who is a singer/performer, he feels the importance of being an example and an inspiration, while acknowledging that the support and inspiration goes both ways. I| S