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Question Bridge: Black Males
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In honor of Black History Month, Phantom Galleries LA Long Beach is proud to present:
Question Bridge: Black Males
A Work-in-Progress Video Project by
Chris Johnson and Hank Willis Thomas
Long Beach 2009
Curated by
Tricia Avant
Opening reception February 7th, 6pm-10pm,
Pedestrian Viewing 24/7 during the month of February 2009.
Location:
350 E. 3rd Street, Long Beach, CA 90802
“There is something called “black” in America and there is something called “white” in America, and I know them when I see them, but I will forever be unable to explain the meaning of them, because they are not real even though they have a very real place in my daily way of seeing, a fundamental relationship to my ever-evolving understanding of history, and a critical place in my relationship to humanity.”
At a time when black male identity has become a dominant theme in American socio/political culture, Question Bridge: Black Males brings a new perspective to this issue. Many black males who live their lives in working-class inner-city neighborhoods have very different views of the world, and themselves, than do blacks who spend all of their professional and social lives in white-dominated parts of our culture. This distinction complicates attempts to simplify what we generally consider to be obvious definitions of what it means to be "black" in America. The ascendency of Barack Obama to the Presidency is only the most striking example of this fact.
Structured as an experiment, Question Bridge: Black Males uses the deceptively simple act of asking a question as the channel for expression and insight across significant human divisions. The participants were invited to video record a sincere question of other black men from whom they felt distinctly different. In turn they agreed to answer a question on video asked of them. Often these men didn’t know each other and most were in different cities. The idea is that if you feel safe enough to ask a deeply held question, you are saying in effect “This is something I do not know about you, please help me understand.” If the question is meaningful you are much more likely to listen respectfully to a sincere attempt to answer.
Having recently completed the first phase of this project Chris Johnson and Hank Willis Thomas traveled to Birmingham Alabama, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and New York and filmed over 60 black men ranging from judges to ex-cons, athletes to engineers, well-known actors to factory workers, Reverends to teens, and even recently arrived Africans to 9th generation citizens. This brought the full spectrum of what it means to be “black” and “male” to the forefront. In this context “Blackness” ceases to be a simple, monochromatic concept.
What is it that so radically divides black men of different cultural frameworks? African-American men must find ways to address these questions with their own voices. Question Bridge: Black Males is a form that allows vital answers to be heard in new ways.
Chris Johnson
Media Contact: Tricia Avant ci_ava@yahoo.com
Partners:
The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency is proud to partner with Phantom Galleries LA, not only to revive empty storefronts along our major corridors, but also to showcase the arts and build a sense of community and culture in our Downtown," said Craig Beck, Executive Director of the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency. LongBeachRDA.org
