“It doesn’t have to be pretty to be true. But if it is true its beautiful.” -Roy DeCarava

Roy DeCarava documented everyday people. As one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century, he became the first black person to win the Guggenheim fellowship in 1952. His work is best known for capturing the essence of people in Harlem, NYC. His subjects of melanin moved mellifluously on Lenox ave, 125th street, Seventh Ave. These are the same streets that embraced Detroit Red, Malcolm X and El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. These streets. These people and their truth. DeCarava did not brandish overtly political techniques, and he didn’t want to necessarily make a sociological statement. For DeCarava, the people’s stories were not to be scientifically dissected. The point was the rhythm of their life, their honest experiences.

In between that one-fifteenth of a second, there is a thickness” -Roy DeCarava (on Jazz and photography)

With the Harlem Renaissance as a childhood backdrop, a single parent home can become a multi-dimensional universe. Coming of age in Harlem during such a culturally saturated era led DeCarava to collaborate with many of America’s greatest writers and musicians. Aside from the portraits of everyday life, he has a catalogue of portraits that focus on Jazz musicians. Some of them include John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. Also, in 1955, Langston Hughes and DeCarava joined forces to produce a book “Sweet Fly Paper of Life.” Within this work, the poetic fiction of Hughes wraps around a collection of Harlem steeped photographs.

“I never work with light”-Roy DeCarava

DeCarava chose to sacrifice the sharpness of many images by not using flash lighting. Instead, he focused on what the story of the image represented rather than getting the perfect shot. This technical element added to the gritty truth of his work, which continues to offer glimpses into overlooked slices of the past, urging the viewer forward, while making us more sure of our footing.

December 9, 1919 – October 27, 2009
In Memory Of Roy DeCarava