February 14, 2024 by Olivia Tuck (‘24)
Tiffany J. Sutton – @tiffanyjoy1955
Artist Biography from her portfolio:
“Her work is characterized by the Black gaze, dual perceptions, and unique landscape; by placing Black femininity at the forefront; through complex, layered images, and introspective portraits. She has attended community colleges and Washington University in St. Louis. Sutton has been featured in NPR and Humble Arts Foundations. Sutton has won the 2022 Black Women Photographers + Nikon Grant and was a resident at the Gullkisten Center for Creativity in Laugartvn, Iceland in June 2022. She draws upon Black feminist thought to create abstracted portraits of Black women. She is based in St. Louis, Missouri.”
Lorna Simpson – @lornasimpson
Snippet taken from the MoMa website (https://www.moma.org/collection/works/73745):
“To make this work, Simpson photographed a variety of wigs—from long braids to waves to moustaches—that she had purchased at Fulton Mall in Brooklyn. She then lithographed the images on felt and incorporated small text panels that relate historical accounts and anecdotes ranging in topic from slavery to drag. As the artist explained: “The wearer of the wigs can either become someone else or become closer to the person that one sees oneself to be . . . embracing or cutting across a particular stereotype, or, in terms of gender, blurring the lines between masculinity and femininity.”
Ming Smith – @mingsmithphoto
Artist Biography from her portfolio:
“Harlem-based, Detroit-born, Ming Smith attended the famous Howard University, Washington, DC. Ming Smith first became a photographer when she was given a camera, and was the first female member to join Kamoinge, a collective of black photographers in New York in the 1960s, working to document black life. Smith would go on to be the first black woman photographer to be included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art.”
Temi Lawson – @temilawson
Artist Biography from her portfolio:
“A Film and Digital Photographer
Who Also Works In Advertising
Currently Resides in Dallas, TX
Loves Dogs And Her Husband—In That Order
Asks Deep Questions Because It’s Way Better Than Small Talk
With A YouTube Channel Primarily Focused on Her Film Photography Journey
And Loves To Take Portraits Of Faces
Has had work Featured In VOGUE, TEXAS Monthly, Forbes, WIRED, And Some More Places, But Who’s Counting
And Wrote This All In The Third Person Because It Seemed Artsier.”