It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The “Called to the Camera” exhibit of works by Black photographers at the New Orleans Museum of Art includes no less than 250 photos from the 1840s to the present. Each is a through-the-looking-glass experience that combines the evolution of photographic technique with evolving African American identity.

Though many of the photos are certainly artistic, it’s not an art show per se. Practically all of the photos in the exhibit were made by commercial studio photographers, who produced portraits and keepsakes of special occasions, plus journalism, advertisements and documentary illustrations.

Spotting the details and decoding the cultural clues in the photos is what makes “Called to the Camera” so compelling.

4 - Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers

An untitled 1940 shot of photographers Marvin and Morgan Smith, preparing a portrait of Sarah Lou Harris Carter' by Morgan and Marvin Smith

NOMA curator Brian Piper began assembling the exhibit five years ago from archives in New Orleans and across the country. He points out that, due to segregation, most of these images wouldn’t have appeared in mainstream White publications and, for a long while, certainly wouldn’t have appeared in a museum either.

He hopes that “Called to the Camera” might help better weave Black photographers into the general flow of photo history.

“The biggest thing I hope people take away is that in the traditional arc of the photograph, these photographers were neglected,” Piper said.

Last week, Piper led a tour of the show, singling out a few of his favorite images along the way.

The 1855 portrait of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was magnetic, Piper said, for several reasons. Despite his fame, Douglass, who had fled slavery, was still in jeopardy of being returned to captivity when the palm-sized, mirror-like portrait photo was taken — it would be 10 years before the conclusion of the Civil War.

His uncertain status may account for Douglass’ fierce expression, which would become more statesmanlike as he aged, Piper said. Based on the history of the photo, Piper said there’s a good chance the iconic activist held it in his own hand.

1 -- Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers

'Two Men in Work Clothes,' an 1880s tintype by an unknown photographer

The camera sees everyone the same, even if society doesn’t. During the Jim Crow era, portraits of African Americans, like the dozens at the start of the “Called to the Camera” exhibit, authentically captured their individual identities. At a time when — as Piper pointed out — White culture often dealt with Black people in a derogatory manor.

Look carefully at the marvelous, anonymous 1880s double portrait titled “Two Men in Work Clothes.” Notice the similarly striped coarse pants, the similar straw hats, and the two young men’s somewhat similar features. Are they brothers? Also notice that the young man on the right apparently has a bandaged finger. The image defies caricature.

Piper said that renowned Washington, D.C., photographer Addison Scurlock’s 1915 “Portrait of a Man with Two Dogs,” might be his favorite image of all. The subject of the photo, a middle-aged man in hunting clothes and boots, chomps on a cigar as he holds a double-barreled shotgun under his arm. Beside him hangs a string of maybe 50 game birds. And at his feet are his obedient hunting dogs.

6 - Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers

"Portrait of a Man, with Two Dogs," circa 1915, by Addison Scurlock

None of this takes place in a wilderness setting, mind you. It’s all produced in an urban studio, with an idyllic painted canvas backdrop that better befitted a graduation photo.

Piper said that the charming portrait is an example of the height of the studio photographer’s craft. The shot, he said, implies a degree of collaboration with a subject rarely seen. In effect, the photo is a self-portrait, orchestrated by Scurlock and his sitter.

In just four years, Piper said, a race riot erupted in Washington between White World War I veterans and Black residents. In that context, he said, a photo of an armed Black man might well have been seen as a threat.

2 -- Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers

'Sisters of the Holy Family, Classroom Portrait,' in 1922 by Arthur P. Bedou

A few of the photographers in “Called to the Camera” were New Orleans-based. Piper called attention to the work of mid-20th-century photographer Arthur P. Bedou, who reveled in the abstraction of his subjects.

His photo of nuns from Henriette Delille’s Sisters of the Holy Family studying together is a gorgeously composed, utterly still composition. His photograph of innumerable folding chairs arranged in rows for a graduation ceremony is even more controlled and unmoving.

But, Piper pointed out, eerily still photographs weren’t Bedou’s only forte. His action shots of Xavier University’s Gold Rush football squad are amazing examples of split-second camera work. Look closely. In one shot, you not only see the ball spiraling through the air, you can pick out the players’ eyes following it.

We could go on and on. There are innumerable more wonders to be found in “Called to the Camera,” such as the autographed photo of controversial activist Marcus Garvey, the photo of future Catwoman Eartha Kitt leading a dance class, Big Chief Darryl Montana in a pale purple Mardi Gras Indian suite, and protesters during the earth-shaking Memphis sanitation worker’s strike carrying “I AM A MAN” picket signs.

Give yourself plenty of time to peruse.

5 - Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers

'Marvin Smith painting a self-portrait,' ca. 1940, by Morgan and Marvin Smith

WHAT: Called to the Camera: Black American Studio Photographers, through Jan. 8, 2023

WHERE: NOMA, One Collins Diboll Circle, at the south end of City Park

WHEN: Tues-Sun, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADMISSION: $15 for adults, $10 for seniors or members of the military, $8 for university students, free for youths 19 and under. Wednesdays free to Louisiana residents.

INFO: noma.org or (504) 658-4100

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com. Follow him on Instagram at dougmaccash, on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash

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