The Detroit Institute of Arts

We often enjoy a few-hour visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts, which is just under one hour drive from our house. On our most recent trip we spent quite a bit of time in an exhibit of photos by the Ghanaian photographer James Barnor. We found his work to be splendid in the way he used lighting, the way he engaged his subjects, and the way he framed and selected the images. We also found that the photos were informative about the mid-twentieth century history of Africa, especially of Ghana, and of the immigration of Africans from the former British colonies to London, where Barnor also worked.

Official description of this extraordinary exhibition: “The DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) proudly presents the exhibition, James Barnor: Accra/London—A Retrospective, a comprehensive survey of the work of Ghanaian photographer James Barnor whose career spans more than six decades. A studio portraitist, photojournalist, and Black lifestyle photographer, Barnor was born in 1929 in the West African nation of Ghana. He established his famous Ever Young Studio in Accra in the early 1950s and devoted his early photography to documenting critical social and political changes that animated the nation on the cusp of independence from Britain.” (source)

 

The artist’s photos were displayed in frames, and also in some cases, enlarged to mural size for the exhibit rooms.

The artist’s place of business in Akra, Ghana, “Ever Young Graphic Studio” where he made photo portraits.

Mike Eghan at Piccadilly Circus, London, 1967. This and the next photos come from the DIA website.

Ray Ankrah, 1971.

Studio Portrait, 1950s

Sister holding brother, 1979

In a video of the artist that we watched in the exhibition, he described how pleased he was to capture this one shot of a baby that he said only pushed himself up once, and then never did it again during the photo session.

The Diego Rivera Murals in the Great Court

I visit the famous Diego Rivera murals each time I am at the DIA, and they seem new and wonderful each time. On my recent visit, I was there in the early afternoon and the light was especially beautiful.

A small panel of the auto workers eating lunch.

From the Native American Collections

Photos of the places of origin of the art works are displayed as murals.

Blog post © 2023 mae sander

Photos as credited; original photos © mae sander\

Shared with Sami’s Monday Murals.