Museums Are Not Neutral

LaTanya Autry, an art historian who coined the hashtag, #MuseumsAreNotNeutral, was in Portland discussing the representation of Black people in photography. Her first talk was at the Portland Art Museum on August 8 (see Extra); her second talk was at Teressa Raiford's community center on August 9 (here). She pointed out the striving for "respectability" in the collection curated by W.E.B. DuBois in 1900; his exhibit was for white people, and his intention was to persuade them that Black people are also capable of being "civilized." So the photographs show Black people in elegant middle-class or upper-middle-class clothing; reading books; in photographic studio settings "just like white people." As a result, farmers, service workers, and laborers are not depicted. The images are "sanitized," and Autry asks how photographers can suggest dignity without class trappings. She "reads" photographs, asking, "who is the audience for this?" and "what is the intention of this collection?"

Seated next to her in this photograph is Isaka Shamsud-Din, Portland artist and civil rights activist. He discussed the difficulty for Black artists of selling any work to the city as public art; of being represented in museums; of being seen as legitimate. He does however have a show coming up soon at the Portland Art Museum.