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In Bell Hooks’ essay “In Our Glory: Photography and Black Life” from Art On My Mind: Visual Politics, Hooks breaks down the importance of photography within black life and why this activity should be continued to preserve black culture. Hook’s main argument throughout her writing is that photography is powerful in creating meaning because cameras allow black people to effectively combine image-making, resistance struggle, and pleasure. She uses anecdotes from her life and broadens the issue to a cultural discussion as she illustrates the importance of photography within black life and culture. She believes that in order to properly create a manuscript of black people’s relation to the visual in segregated black life, we need to follow each trace, not fall into the trap of thinking that if something was not openly discussed or only talked about and not recorded, that it lacks significance and meaning.
Hooks begins her essay with an anecdote describing her favorite picture of her father and her wonders as to why he seems so unhappy in the present day compared to when he was young and not a father. She details her father as wearing a white t-shirt and having a “confident, seductive, and cool” look on his face. (54) His refusal to acknowledge his past and carefree lifestyle before becoming a father led Hooks to depict her father during this time as “in his glory”. Hooks realizes the concept of perspective playing a role in an image’s personal importance when she compares her relationship with her father to that of her sister who always had her father’s affection and close support. She labeled the power of photograph handling as the cause of her sister’s opposing viewpoint of the image, her sister believing this image of her father is “a horrible photograph of dad”, claiming it is “disgusting” and stating “He’s not even wearing a shirt, just an old white undershirt.” (55) If Hooks’ sister has this viewpoint, I wonder why she has this photo framed in her home, especially if it is the only photo of anyone in her family displayed in her home. Hooks now understands that “we see the same man, we do not see him in the same way. Our ‘reading’ and experience of this image is shaped by our relationship with him” (55) I find it a bit peculiar that despite Hooks’ less close-knit relationship with her father compared to her sister, she reads more into the image and her father and is more emotionally touched by the image than her sister. While Hooks wants to rescue and preserve this image of her father and for it to represent him in her imagination as an image of him she could love, her sister surprisingly views it as a “horrible photograph” (55). These opposing views demonstrate how one’s interpretation of an image can be altered based on the viewer’s relationship and life experience with the subject of the image.
Hooks continues her essay by describing her favorite childhood snapshot, a photo of herself “in her glory.” In the photograph, Hooks is a proud little girl in a cowgirl costume. This photo gave her a “sense of girlhood beauty and capacity for pleasure.” (56) Hooks feels this image is “most real to [herself]”. (56) Under the impression that other family would also have this view that this is her “best image” (56), she goes to her cousin’s home to share the image, a place “where art and image mattered” (56). Unfortunately, the photo was lost after giving it to her cousin’s wife for safekeeping. The mishandling and ultimate loss of this photograph could suggest that the opinion of her “best image” photo was not shared. If the image was truly as important to her cousin’s household as it was to Hooks, the photo would have been protected and not lost. Hooks treasured this photo, but her cousin’s differing viewpoint caused her to lose “the image of [herself that she] could love” (57) and lose value in her “representation.”
Bell Hooks discusses a common tradition in Southern black homes where black families display images of everyday life, also called snapshots, in their homes. She describes the walls of the homes as “sites of resistance” and “a space where… dehumanization could be countered.” (59) The walls become “true-to-life” (59) within black culture and have the ability to counter “the degrading images of blackness that emerged from the racist white imagination and that were circulated widely in the dominant culture” (59) Reminiscing about her childhood while looking at her grandmother’s wall, Hooks expresses comparisons between the decorated house walls and photo albums, stating, “Rather than shutting images away, where they could be seen only upon request, the walls were public announcement of the primacy of the image.” (61) Hooks acknowledges that the power snapshots hold convey the black community’s visual complexity and help construct the black identities of each member of these black households. Photos are hung not only for the homeowners’ pleasure but also for any visitors’ pleasure. The photos celebrate black identity within these houses. Historically, black people were not allowed in art museums, museums did not display black art, and the visual representations blacks were featured in were usually caricatures. She also explains that homeowners are mindful of the different views of visiting perceivers. As a result, because the pictures in households varied in context and some were difficult to understand, Hooks and other blacks depended on the “curatorial process” to understand the image on display. Without this process, black images could be misrepresented by viewers. Despite the fear of not being socially accepted by white people through their ideas or form of the visual, blacks continued to take photos for informal and recreational purposes to preserve black history and black life.
Photography served as a way for blacks to enter history without words. It proved to be central to decolonization because it served as a common ground between blacks and whites in the area of visual arts and people’s ability to capture memories, stories, and snapshots. Cameras gave black people, no matter their social status, a means by which they could participate fully in the art of image-making alongside white people. Photography, compared to other forms of image-making, is more admired amongst blacks because it offers the possibility of faster social change. It could easily be produced, shared, and emotionally appeal to large groups of black folks to the extent by which a social movement could begin. This is why photography is so important to black culture.
After reading Hooks’ essay, I wonder how the trend of image-making and capturing memories through photography has changed over the years. I have a feeling that photographing black life and culture is now much more important and a part of society, especially after the world’s history with black-white tension. How common is the belief among black people that black culture and life do not need to be shared or preserved? How has the dominant culture shifted from Hooks’ father’s youth to now? Will image-making for black life die down? How would this compare to the future white culture? How truly involved is black culture within the dominant culture or white culture?
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