Birney Imes
Oaklimb Baptism, Crawford, Mississippi

Oaklimb Baptism, Crawford, Mississippi
Oaklimb Baptism, Crawford, Mississippi
Oaklimb Baptism, Crawford, Mississippi
ArtistAmerican, born 1951
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Oaklimb Baptism, Crawford, Mississippi
Date1979
Place depictedCrawford, Mississippi, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 1/16 × 9 1/8 in. (23 × 23.1 cm)
Sheet: 14 × 10 15/16 in. (35.6 × 27.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation
Object number91.1398
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
200 Brown Gallery
On view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

A longtime resident of Columbus, Mississippi, Birney Imes has spent much of his career photographing the surrounding communities of Lowndes County. Using his photography to build trust and understanding, Imes brings a sense of empathy and respect to his subjects as he depicts the social practices that define spiritual life in the region. In this picture of members of the Oaklimb Missionary Baptist Church conducting a baptism by immersion—a central rite of Baptist Christianity—Imes emphasizes not only the joy and physicality of the moment but also the intimate connections between land, faith, and body that characterize the ritual.


Provenance[A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans]; purchased by MFAH, 1991.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription: Inscribed in pencil on verso sheet, lower right: ".6".
Signed on sheet verso in pen:
"Birney Imes"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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