THE HARLEM BOOK OF THE DEAD

JAMES VAN DER ZEE, OWEN DODSON, CAMILLE ILLOPS, TONY MORRISON, KARLA FC HOLLOWAY

ISBN 13: 9798991036726

Edité par PRIMARY INFORMATION, NEW YORK, 2025

A propos de cet article

THE HARLEM BOOK OF THE DEAD with text and photographs by JAMES VAN DER ZEE, OWEN DODSON, CAMILLE ILLOPS, TONY MORRISON, KARLA FC HOLLOWAY. The publication is the most complete record of Van Der Zee s funerary photographs, featuring over three dozen portraits by the artist, who meticulously composed the setting and subjects before using his renowned dark room and retouching skills to superimpose celestial figures, poetry, biblical scenes, or portraits onto the images to compensate for lack of adornments, such as flowers, or to fulfill the requests of his subjects or their families. Billops recognized the singular value in these portraits and collected them for the first time here, choosing to pair them with Dodson s words to replicate a pairing of "death s oldest companions the portrait artist and the poet." Further, her introduction and interview provide a valuable service in detailing the history of Van Der Zee s life and work, his compositional decisions in the portraits, and the lives of his subjects and the circumstances of their passing.During his lifetime, Van Der Zee was primarily known as a studio photographer, with an active portrait practice dating from 1916 to his death in 1983. His work took off between the World Wars and he is largely responsible for providing a visual record of the emergent Black middle class in the early twentieth century, capturing weddings, funerals, parades, sports clubs, community groups, and infantrymen (such as the Harlem Hellfighters). Over the years, understanding of Van Der Zee s work which was imbued from the start with creative technical mastery has evolved and he is no longer seen as a mere documentarian but rather a visionary artist who amplified the beauty of the life and community around him. (Publishers desdcription) 108 pages, paper with stiff cover. 9" x 10 1/2". New, in publishers shrink wrap.

N° de réf. du vendeur 3767

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: THE HARLEM BOOK OF THE DEAD
• Éditeur: PRIMARY INFORMATION, NEW YORK
• Date de parution: 2025
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9798991036726
• Reliure: Paperback
• État de l'article: New
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Photography

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Available for the first time since 1978, The Harlem Book of the Dead showcases James Van Der Zee's unflinching creative vision

Originally published in 1978, The Harlem Book of the Dead is a haunting and beautiful document of Black funerary traditions in Harlem, capturing the community's mourning rituals through the lens of one of the Harlem Renaissance's most celebrated photographers. The publication is the most complete record of Van Der Zee's funerary photographs, featuring over three dozen portraits by the artist, who meticulously composed the setting and the subjects before using his renowned darkroom and retouching skills to superimpose celestial figures, poetry, biblical scenes or portraits onto the images to compensate for lack of adornments, such as flowers, or to fulfill the requests of his subjects or their families.
These portraits are complemented and captioned by poems from Owen Dodson and a wide-ranging interview with Van Der Zee by the sculptor and filmmaker Camille Billops, who conceptualized and edited the publication. This facsimile edition reproduces the printing and specifications of the 1978 publication. The original foreword by Toni Morrison is included, and accompanied by a newly commissioned afterword by Karla FC Holloway, author of the canonical Passed On (2001).
James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) began working as a photographer in 1915, and by the following year had opened his photography studio on West 135th Street in Harlem. His images of Black New Yorkers, together with celebrities such as Langston Hughes, Joe Louis and Marcus Garvey, form an indelible corpus of images of the Harlem Renaissance.