Tony Gleaton documents African diaspora
I love Ôthe other.Õ I define Ôthe otherÕ as those people who are separated from any dominant cultural group. My work examines our common elements and the disparities which, in making us different, also bind us together in the human condition. Ð Tony Gleaton
SEASIDE Ð As part of the spring visiting artists series, photographer Tony Gleaton will give a public lecture on Thursday, March 13 at California State University, Monterey Bay.
The series, Contemporary Photography: Issues and Images of Race and Representation, examines depictions of race through portraiture.
For more than 30 years, Gleaton has pursued photography throughout North and South America. He began his career as a photographic assistant in New York, and eventually made his way to Mexico, Central and South America, to document the African diaspora. The result: intimate portraiture that gives visual expression to men and women, children and grandparents, whose ancestry dates back to the African slaves brought to New Spain from 1500 through the 1700s.
"The photographs which I create are as much an effort to define my own life, with its heritage encompassing Africa and Europe, as it is an endeavor to throw open the discourse on the broader aspects of ÒmestizajeÓ . . . the ÒassimilationÓ of Asians, Africans and Europeans with indigenous Americans. The images I produce, most often, are ones in which people directly and openly look into the camera, yet the most important aspect of these portraits is that they give a narrative voice by visual means to people deemed invisible by the greater part of society . . . and deliberately craft an Òalternative iconographyÓ of what beauty and family and love and goodness might stand for -- one that is inclusive, not exclusive,Ó Gleaton says.
His work will be on display at the university library during his visit.
The photography lecture series will conclude April 24 with Albert Chong, who uses combinations of objects and vintage family photographs to create intimate, narrative constructions. Dawoud Bey, best known for his portraits of teenagers and his documentation of American youth culture, will appear on campus as part of the lecture series, but scheduling conflicts prevent the university from opening that lecture to the public.
The public is invited to this free event, which will be held in the Music Hall, Building 30, on Sixth Avenue.
Directions to the university and a map are available on the universityÕs website at csumb.edu. The university wishes to make this program accessible to people with disabilities. Anyone with disability-related needs, is asked to call Alison Clifford at 582-3130 one week prior to the event.
When: 6:30 p.m., March 13, 2003
Where: CSUMB University Center, in the Living Room
Cost: Free, but parking fee must be paid