Ozier Muhammad’s Photographs at the Keith De Lellis Gallery
In late October, Ozier Muhammad began our conversation at the Keith de Lellis Gallery in midtown Manhattan by contemplating his college years. “One of my professors suggested that I go door-to-door to do portrait photography, as a way to subsidize my art photography. The professors at Columbia College Chicago were purists,” he said with a smile. But he knew, also, that he wanted a career as a journalist and documentarian — creating photographs which grappled seriously with societal issues.
Muhammad’s work, as presented in this gallery exhibit, poses a host of questions:
- Can you list events that changed the world:
- in your lifetime?
- in your parent’s lifetime?
- in your great-grandparents’ lifetime?
- Can the above questions be answered effortlessly, without much thought; or could they be the type of questions that one ponders?
- Are you thinking more about happy and positive events, or disturbing and harsh ones? Which people and nations rank high on the lists?
- How does your gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic background, and a range of other factors, impact how you perceive these events?
- Do you place yourself within the context of the events or are you an observer?
- Add to that — How does yearning to capture events and notable moments, via camera, impact how you understand the world around you?
All the above factors are integral in the lives of photographers — and certainly — in the life and career of Ozier Muhammad. Since his teenage years, he has been taking photography seriously — he’s studied and perfected his craft while at college. He has a Bachelor Degree in Photography from Columbia College Chicago.
Muhammad has worked as a journalist photographer for well-known publications including Ebony and Newsday. Since 1992, he’s been at The New York Times. In 1985, along with two other journalists, he shared a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting; in 1984, he was the recipient of the George Polk Award for News Photography; and he was a photographer for the Songs of My People project.
Muhammad has been immersed in photography events, big and small, that have altered political landscapes in the world. He has documented many events that help us to learn more about them, as well as, providing greater context.
Among the notable events he’s documented:
- the first inauguration of President Barack Obama,
- Nelson Mandela‘s presidential win,
- Occupy Wall Street,
- famine conditions in Ethiopia during the mid-1980s,
- and the aftermath of a major earthquake in Haiti.
But there are other photographs in the exhibition that would be classified as casual or candid “street photography,” — they show the minor details of everyday life:
- a teenaged boy playing basketball,
- worshippers at a church service,
- people walking along 125th Street in Harlem,
- and a dancer in motion, and more.
This exhibition showcases Muhammad’s focus on people: individuals, pairs, small and large groups. People who are famous and those not. Most times we see these people fully, and in another startling photo, we see only their arms and hands. Portraits of people are in both black-and-white and color. The people focus of these photographs are primarily African-Americans, Haitians and Africans. We see them engaged in activities that are joyful and painful, matter of fact and historical, standing still and in motion — their faces and bodies portraying a wide variety of emotions and experiences. “I got my first camera when I was fifteen. I immediately started taking photographs of my siblings, relatives, cousins, my neighbors.”
Portraiture photography is all around us. We know that most people frequently take pictures of their families and friends, and now-a-days selfies. Since the early 1840s, people have been fascinated by photographs of people. Especially photographs of celebrities or people caught up in a historic moment.
Mr. Muhammad, throughout his journalistic career, has focused his lens on innumerable people. In this exhibit, the photographs I liked most were:
- the trio of black and white photographs,
- a man dancing on 125th Street in Harlem, looking east. The iconic sign for the Apollo Theater prominent in the background, anchoring us in the location. But the man is the star of each photograph, his arms raised — his movements full of energy. He may not be famous, but he is the star here — no doubt. He is titled: Dancing Harry,
- President Obama walking up a gangway. In this picture, he is the focus, however, he is dwarfed by the plane and the blue sky with clouds. We see him from his right side. What are his thoughts as he ascends? A thought bubble could have been placed above his head. Each viewer can wonder what the POTUS was thinking.
A quartet of color photos show young children in Haiti, sitting on benches. They stare at the camera and, of course, the man behind the camera. Three photos depict pairs, one a trio. These children are at school after a devastating earthquake. Their expressions are humbled, and we know already that their lives have been horrifically altered by the natural disaster. Yet they are adorable, and as you look at them, they are more than children being documented — you want to speak words of assurance to them, offer them hugs, something to eat, toys.
Another photo shows South Africa’s Nelson Mandela placing his paper vote into a ballot box. He smiles, as does a man standing behind him. In the picture we see another man, holding a camera in front of his face, taking a picture. Thus, one photographer takes a photograph of another photographer during this historic moment, when the first South African of color would be elected to the presidency.
There is another trio of photographs that were taken on 125th Street, but at different times, with different people. Each photograph focuses on a male:
- the top photo is the back of a boy wearing a suit. He’s either waiting for a person or waiting to cross the street.
- The middle color photo shows a man walking toward us. The sun setting and paper and other debris are being whipped up in a frenzy by the wind. In fact, two newspaper sheets figure prominently in this picture — competing for attention with the man.
- The lower photo is at night, and a suited man walks toward us with newspapers in both hands.
In each photo, the faces are blurred. Each figure is an African-American male going somewhere. Muhammad recalled many details and situations about each photo in the selected group.
While at college, Muhammad worked in black and white; “I never made a color print in the darkroom at college,” he said. One of his biggest professional influences was Gordon Parks, for how he composed his pictures.
He offers incite into how he approaches the topic of Work Ethic to less experienced photographers, “I always try to have my camera near my face. It’s like a choreography in catching the right moments, movements and angles. And, I usually don’t approach people unless on assignment. Usually I just wait for something to come together — light, position, tableaus — wait for it to reach a peak.”
When he covered the Haitian earthquake and Occupy Wall Street, Muhammad enthusiastically approached his editors, asking them for the assignments. These were among the stories that intrigued him — those he wished to document in his fashion.
The exhibition runs through December 4th. If you want to see several remarkable photographs that cover events in a perceptive, engaging and humbling manner, this is a show not to be missed. The photo selections and the format, in which they are presented, highlight their impact as a group and individually. Ozier Muhammad Opening Night at the Keith De Lellis Gallery