Art Community

49 Flint men featured in FIA exhibit

Featured photo: Flint resident Bob Campbell

Written by Tanya Terry

Forty nine men from the Flint community are being featured in the Sons: Seeing the Modern African American Male exhibition at the Flint Institute of Arts from January 22- April 16. Photographer Jerry Taliaferro, who photographed the nearly 50 men, said “Recent events point to the urgent need for conversations about the contemporary Black American male.”

“Because of recent events, there is a need for a better understanding,” Taliaferro said. “Any conversation is better than no conversation. The exhibition is not just about the people in the exhibition. It’s about the person viewing the exhibition, too.”

Jerry Taliaferro, photographer

Images within the exhibition are divided into two sections: first a black-and-white photograph of just their face, and then later in the exhibition a photograph in color, where the subjects were instructed to “be themselves.” Visitors will have the opportunity to reflect and reconcile their initial reactions to the portraits, after getting to know the men and their stories through text labels and QR codes that lead to interviews conducted by the artist.

“You form an opinion or allow yourself to make assumptions, and then you allow yourself to be corrected, or reconcile what you thought about a certain picture with reality,” Taliaferro stated.”…It allows you to do an examination of yourself.”

Taliaferro said there were a lot of parallels with experiences of those photographed, as Black males in America. On the other hand, he said there were some surprises.

“How they react in certain situations or what insights they gained from a certain experience differs from person to person,” Taliaferro pointed out.

Taliaferro’s exhibition has been or will be featured in Jackson and Muskegon, Michigan. It has also been in Hempstead in New York, Baltimore in Maryland and Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.

He said the Flint men were “very impressive, very articulate, very strong in their opinions, very truthful and good role models.”

Lee Grant Allen, is being featured in the exhibition and works at General Motors as a business analyst and a DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) lead. He is also a local entrepreneur who is planning to open a streetwear store in Buckham Alley called Dau-House.

Lee Grant Allen, of Flint

Allen is 34 years old. He strives to motivate others through his endeavors, including by being involved in philanthropy.

“I just want to be a motivation to someone who looks like me, someone that’s younger than me or about the same age of me, that no matter what you look like, no matter what your age may be, you can still accomplish whatever you’re passionate about,” Allen expressed. “…A lot of times the only thing that gets glorified in the news is what we do wrong. So, you barely hear success stories. You barely hear about individuals who are trying to uplift the community.”

Bob Campbell, age 57, is also being featured. He is a senior communications manager for the Flint & Genesee Group. He is also a published author, who published the novel Motown Man in November of 2020. He also has had several essays published in online publications.

Bob Campbell, of Flint

“Certainly I think there can be generational differences,” Campbell said. “Some of my experiences as a 57-year-old father are certainly different from what my 24-year-old son might be experiencing the world. At the same time, you see there are a lot of similarities. The more things change, the more they stay the same in some respects.”

The selection process for this exhibition was based on the model used in the 2017 Women of a New Tribe exhibition. It was announced at the 2021 virtual Community Gala that for one month the FIA would accept nominations of African American men in the Flint community who: 1) have had a positive impact on individuals; 2) have helped those around them in the neighborhood; and/or 3) have created positive change or furthered important issues in the community.

Nominations were submitted via the website or hand-filled out forms. According to Patrick Hayes, communications & marketing coordinator for Flint Institute of Arts, a committee of community members reviewed the forms to make sure they had information filled out correctly and duplicates were eliminated. After that process, there were 120 forms. The forms were sealed and then members of the committee picked them at random. The first 50 men were selected and contacted to be asked if they’d like to participate. If any declined, then the committee selected more from the remaining envelopes. In the end, 49 men agreed to participate and be photographed.

 

 

 

 

 

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