The photographs of Jamel Shabazz conjure up words that read like hybrids based on the artist's own name: words like shazam and pizzazz. They are flashy and cool. The images are street photographs of African–Americans, taken in Brooklyn between 1980 and 1989, and as a body of work they essentially document hip-hop culture. Yet, whatever racial or social differences there may be between subject and audience, a kind of rapport is instantly achieved; the young people in Shabazz's portraits appear so comfortable with being photographed that they project an easy familiarity.
Shabazz's show at the SOF Art House was one of the highlights of Contact 2003, Toronto's annual photography festival, and was the Canadian premiere of his work. One of his images was selected as the cover photo for the program of the month-long festival in May, and some his images taken in spray-painted New York subway cars were selected to appear on advertising panels located throughout Toronto's subway system. He was also asked to give a lecture at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Before he would agree, Shabazz made a special request. He wanted to have some type of community involvement with youth. The result was that he took 15 teens around the city, teaching them how to photograph the urban environment.
It appears that it is difficult for Shabazz to separate his love for photography from his commitment to his day job as a social worker for the New York Department of Corrections. He uses both careers to help initiate positive change. “I was fortunate to photograph many men, women, and children in their best years before crack and AIDS destroyed their communities,” he says. “The camera enabled me to tell a person how special and valuable they were and I had hoped that I could encourage people to look toward their own futures and believe in themselves.”
Shabazz find's hope in his subjects' faces. Beyond the bravado of the uniform of Adidas running shoes and layers of gold accessories, he glimpses a smirk or an innocent stare. These pictures are of people at home in their environment, demonstrating an intense comfort in front of the camera. They want to be photographed. They pose. They gesture dramatically. They give their best, practised cool stares. They want to be seen. They want to model in front of the camera. They are fashion-plates. Shabazz captures it all, and the juxtapositions that find their way into his work are striking.
Street clothing, tough poses and “attitude” appear alongside helpless expressions and vulnerable stances. A boy laughs while being hugged by his girlfriend on the subway or a motorcycle. Young teens try desperately to appear older by adopting the clothes, pose and gaze they've carefully observed in others: arms crossed, hands tucked tightly into armpits, one foot forward, eyes squinted. A girl sitting on the hood of a souped-up Cadillac, arms back, legs spread, a face of helplessness.
One large colour photograph is of the head and torso of a young man. On first glance he appears aggressive: with his blue mesh baseball cap, multiple gold chains, gold bracelet, gold watch, bulging tattooed bicep and scarred forearm, he holds a disappearing cigarette between his thumb and forefinger, staring directly into the viewer. It is this stare that breaks through to us. Despite all of the subject's best efforts, Shabazz has captured a moment of vulnerability.
Shabazz reaches out to his subjects, as if to point them in the right direction. These photographs show how they have placed their confidence in him. Their comfort allows us to share in this confidence. Beyond race and culture, we become exposed to a personal moment.
Jonah Samson Family Medicine Resident St. Michael's Hospital Toronto, Ont.
Figure. Jamel Shabazz, c. 1980–1989. Untitled (Red Three). C-print, 16” x 20” Photo by: Courtesy Wedge Gallery, Toronto
Footnotes
Back in the Days, a monograph of this work, was published in 2001 by powerHouse Books in New York City.