Becoming: Photographs From The Wedge Collection

This exhibition brings together approximately 110 works by more than 60 artists from Canada, the United States, Africa and throughout the African Diaspora to explore how new configurations of identity have been shaped by the photographic portrait within the last century. Whether these images document an era or reflect on family histories, this compelling exhibition provides a vivid testimony to the increasing presence of artists who chose to reject the common tendency to view black communities in terms of conflict or stereotype. Becoming offers a fresh exploration of the strength, beauty and complexity captured within representations of black life as it is both lived and imagined.

Providing insights into the changing roles of the artist and subject, the camera is used to create scenes that vary from everyday realism to a staged universe. Some images have the look and feel of snapshots, while others convey a theatrical or cinematic positioning. Other works explore the conventions of the family portrait and family album within the dynamics of domestic space and implied perceptions of visuality and body politics.

Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection is organized by Kenneth Montague of Wedge Curatorial Projects, Toronto. At the Nasher Museum, the exhibition is supported by the Graduate Liberal Studies program at Duke University, and Gail Belvett, DDS (as of April 6, 2011).