- Frank Lacy, Hamiet Bluiett Sextet, Carlos I, New York City
Image: 22 1/2 × 16 in. (57.2 × 40.6 cm)
Mat: 29 15/16 × 24 in. (76 × 60.9 cm)
Explore Further
Not a typically posed studio
portrait, this work by Anthony Barboza reveals that he has used his camera as a
"visual pen" to create a photographic sketch of Carlos and his instrument.
Caught during a momentary respite from playing, the mind continues the rhythm
of the music, both physically and intellectually.
Barboza learned to photograph and
print from fashion photographer Hugh Bell, but his early low-contrast style is
reminiscent of Roy DeCarava, with whom he also studied. He has worked in both
photojournalism, with Time and Newsweek, and commercial
photography, with Vogue,
Harper's
Bazaar and
Ebony.
The
unplanned instances of photojournalism shown in the ]azz Musicians series
are in contrast to the staged settings of commercial work. As Barboza said in a
1982 exhibition
catalogue of his photographs: "I don't plan too much and allow myself to
be open to everything. I try to stay fresh and spontaneous because ideas become
limp and die if they're too premeditated."
ProvenanceThe artist, Westbury, New York; purchased by MFAH, 1992.
Exhibition History"African-American Art in the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 22–May 9, 2004.
“Made for Magazines: Iconic 20th-Century Photographs,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 9–May 4, 2014.
"Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 27–August 30, 2020.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in pencil, overmat recto, lower right below window: A. Barboza
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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