Art Section II: African American Histories of Fugitivity/Untitled #13

What is a historical example of navigating without maps?

Enslaved African Americans who sought freedom by escaping to the northern US or Canada

What was the Fugitive Slave Act and when was it enacted?

It was enacted in 1850 and required people to turn "fugitives" over to law enforcement and criminalized aiding runaways

What term did the formerly enslaved writer Henry Bibb coin?

Self-emancipation

When was the term "self-emancipation" coined?

1853

Who were abolitionists?

People who sought the outlawing of slavery

Did abolitionists successfully challenge the Fugitive Slave Act?

No

What was the Underground Railroad?

A network that helped enslaved people escape to free states or Canada

What was the Underground Railroad comprised of?

A constantly shifting network of trusted contacts, safe houses, and secure routes

How was information about the Railroad shared?

Orally

What did runaway slaves rely on?

Visual cues of space and place

What did runaway slaves have to do, according to John Michael Vlach?

Look for the most promising places of entry into Northern states and determine the safest routes

What are some examples of images that show self-emancipated people?

Theodor Kaufmann's "On to Liberty" (1867) and Eastman Johnson's "A Ride for Liberty" (1862)

What did self-emancipated people use as guides?

Stars

When did runaway slaves travel and why?

At night to avoid being seen

What was the nickname of the Big Dipper?

drinking gourd

Why was the Big Dipper significant?

Two of its stars point toward the North Star, guiding runaways to safety

According to popular media, what is the meaning behind the lyrics of "Follow the Drinking Gourd"?

It provides a road map to freedom

In reality, how did travelers make the journey to freedom?

They had to think quickly on the move and constantly evaluate the security of routes

Which body of water was an important part of the journey to freedom and why?

The Ohio River, because it formed much of the border between free and slave states

Who was Robert S. Duncanson?

An artist of mixed Black and European American heritage

What do bodies of water represent in Duncanson's paintings?

Safe traversal of a dangerous landscape

What was Duncanson's home city?

Cincinnati

What is Dawoud Bey's profession and what series did he create?

Bey is a photographer who created the series Night Coming Tenderly, Black

How long has Bey's career been?

Nearly 50 years

What has Bey often represented in his work?

Black communities

What does Bey record in Night Coming Tenderly, Black?

Sites on the final legs of the Underground Railroad

Where did fugitives go after making it to Ohio?

They had to go to Cleveland and catch a boat to Canada

What was the landscape in central Ohio like during the nineteenth century, and how was it helpful?

It was filled with thick forests, which provided protection and places to hide

How long was the last part of the route depicted in Bey's photos?

50 miles

What is the lighting like in Bey's photos?

Darkly lit

What is implied by Bey's photographs?

A voyage filled with peril

What do Bey's photos celebrate?

The resilience of those who made it to the end of the Underground Railroad

When and where was Dawoud Bey born?

In Queens in 1953

What was Bey's first major photographic project and when did he complete it?

Harlem USA in 1979

When did Bey earn his MFA and from which school?

In 1993 from Yale University School of Art

What prestigious art award did Bey win and when?

MacArthur Fellowship in 2017

What was Bey known for in his early career?

Photographs of urban Black life

What is street photography?

Informal unposed images taken in public places

Who dominated street photography through the mid-1970s?

White photographers

Who were some important street photographers?

Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, and Garry Winogrand

What was Roy DeCarava known for?

The beauty and spontaneity of his images as well as his technical skill in developing high-contrast prints

When did DeCavara publish Sweet Flypaper of Life?

1955

Who wrote the text in Sweet Flypaper of Life?

Langston Hughes

Who were major influences on Bey?

DeCavara and Hughes

What poem does the title of Night Coming Tenderly, Black come from?

Dream Variations (1926) by Langston Hughes

What did Bey's street photography focus on?

Contemporary life

What topic did Bey start focusing on in the early 2010s?

Black history

What was Bey's first series on the theme of Black history?

The Birmingham Project (2012)

What did The Birmingham Project reflect on?

The 6 lives lost in the bombing of a Baptist church in Birmingham in 1963

Why did Bey start the Night Coming Tenderly, Black series?

In 2017, the Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art commissioned him to investigate local histories of the Underground Railroad

Why is Night Coming Tenderly, Black not a documentary project?

Most of the sites depicted in it were not actual locations on the Underground Railroad

What is true about the information we have about the Railroad?

Much of it is a mix of truth and fiction

According to Steven Nelson, what inspired Bey's images?

The Underground Railroad's position at the crossroads of history and myth

What does the darkness of the photos mimic?

The uncertainty and dread that must have accompanied the nighttime journeys

How does the tree line appear in Untitled #13?

It is cut off by the upper frame and is reflected in the surface of a pond

What does the darkness force the viewer to do?

Peer hard to discern details

What method was used to print the photos?

Gelatin silver printing

What is gelatin silver printing?

An analog process that uses silver halides suspended in gelatin to make a light-sensitive surface for printing

When was gelatin silver printing first developed?

Around 1890

What is one advantage of gelatin silver printing?

It gives the photographer great control in creating a full tonal range

What time of day was Untitled #13 shot?

Daytime

What visual effect is achieved in Untitled #13 due to the use of gelatin silver printing?

Hazy blackness that mimics photos taken in low-light conditions

What is the image's size?

4 feet by 5 feet

What effect does the low contrast of the image have on the viewer?

It forces us to slow down and allow our eyes to adjust to the darkness

What role does the darkness play conceptually?

It acts as an enveloping screen that provides the safety of concealment

What elements of the image are not blocked out?

The stars and the outlines of trees, houses, and other landmarks

How does Untitled #13 parallel the experiences of enslaved people fleeing through unknown places?

It takes an ordinary American landscape and makes it feel strange and alien

What do the other photos in the series also emphasize?

The unmonumental nature of sites where formerly enslaved people sought safety

What kinds of buildings were used as way-stations for the Underground Railroad?

Private homes, barns, sheds, and other humble outbuildings

What do we struggle to find on the other side of the pond in Untitled #13?

Anything that would help a traveler orient themselves while navigating

What did nineteenth century paintings tend to do?

Show human figures moving through spaces

What do the photographs make us imagine?

Trying to navigate an obscured and uncertain route ourselves

What does the lack of clues make the viewer imagine?

The constant negotiation and assessment that fugitives had to do

How did Bey imagine the position of fugitives?

Frightening but also liberating

What did Bey mean when he said he imagined Black freedom seekers "looking out as opposed to being looked at"?

Despite the difficulties, their journey freed them from the scrutiny and objectification they experienced while enslaved

What does Bey chronicle in Untitled #13?

The journey of an imagined fugitive who made a trail to safety through the night