CITY METRO JAMEL SHABAZZ - curated by Bene Taschen - Galerie Bene Taschen
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JAMEL SHABAZZ
CITY METRO
curated by
Bene Taschen
The Righteous Brothers, NYC 1981
Chromogenic print
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
5
The Corner, East Flatbush, Brooklyn, NYC 1982 The Window View, Brooklyn, NYC 1980
Chromogenic print Chromogenic print
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
6 7
Triple Darkness, NYC 1980 If It Concerns You, Brooklyn, NYC 1980
Silver gelatin print Silver gelatin print
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
14 15
Rolling Solo, East Flatbush, Brooklyn The Brooklyn Connection, Brooklyn
NYC 1985 NYC 1981
Chromogenic print Chromogenic print
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 76.2 x 60.9 cm (30 x 24 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 76.2 x 60.9 cm (30 x 24 in.)
20 21
On the Job, Brooklyn, NYC 1981 The Outside View, Brooklyn, NYC 1999
Silver gelatin print Silver gelatin print
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
26 27
Time Travellers, NYC 2016
Chromogenic print
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
39
Secret Lovers, NYC 1997
Silver gelatin print
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
53
Back to the World, Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NYC 1982
One Love, Manhattan, NYC ca. 1984 Chromogenic print
Chromogenic print Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.) Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 60.9 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 in.)
Edition of 9 plus 2 A P | 76.2 x 60.9 cm (30 x 24 in.)
54 55JAMEL SHABAZZ CITY METRO
Jamel Shabazz has long been recognized as one of the leading figures on the New York street photography scene. Born and raised in Red Hook, Brooklyn, he has spent the past four decades documenting EDUCATION 2003 The Last Sunday in June Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York Fear into Fire Columbia College, Chicago
the rapidly changing social fabric of New York City. Active humanism drives Shabazz in his image making, as he has consistently sought to show and preserve the city’s many populations, regardless of their age, Women Only La Case Gallery, Milan Posing Beauty Newark Museum, Newark
class, race or occupation, with the New York City transit system serving as the natural backdrop to many of his most iconic images. The exhibition and publication “City Metro,” curated by Bene Taschen, 1985 – 1987 John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York Conflict in the New Century Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Dallas
showcases Jamel Shabazz’s eye for capturing the integrity and beauty of the city’s communities and the extent to which New York City’s transit system serves as a ritualistic glue of urban life. 2002 Back in the Days Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York
Strictly Old School Les Deux Gallery, Los Angeles 2010 Rewind Remix Replay Scottsdale Museum of Art,
Since its inauguration in 1904, the subway has become an essential part of the city’s identity with several millions of journeys carried out every day. As the favored means of transport for New Yorkers over New York Underground Secret Gallery, New York Scottsdale
the last century, it has historically been recognized as a source of artistic inspiration, with notably Walker Evans, Helen Levitt and Bruce Davidson each turning their lenses to the crowds that have populated its carriages. SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS When Two Worlds Meet La Piscine Museum, Roubaix
For Jamel Shabazz, the subway represents a pathway for adventure and meeting new people. He began his study of the subway’s crowds in the 1980s and has consistently photographed its activity ever since. 2009 Posing Beauty New York University Tisch School of the Arts,
With an insatiable appetite for images, he would spend countless hours a day documenting this profound underground world, often favoring the lines where he might cross friends or familiar faces. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 2001 Back in the Days Prosper Gallery, New York New York
Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, 1968: Then and Now Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York
Social engagement is key to Shabazz’s work. Much of the warmth and familiarity his images imbue come from the genuine exchanges that took place when they were taken; “for me, having constructive conversations Washington D.C. 1999 True Signs Galerie Beaurepaire, Paris Ancient Futures MoCADA Museum, Brooklyn, New York
was far more important than the photograph itself.” Of all the images presented, If it Concerns You, Brooklyn NYC, 1980, is of particular importance to Shabazz. Highlighting social issues, relevant both then and The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York Obama: The Historic Campaign Schomburg Center, New York
now,it marks one of the first images he took following three years of service in Germany. “Since returning home from serving in the United States army, seeing the poverty and homelessness caught my attention like Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Fashion vs. Sport Victoria and Albert Museum, London
it hadn’t before. I decided early on to turn my lens not only to photographing young people, but to equally to highlight the poverty and social conditions in New York City.” Greatly inspired by the documentary Brooklyn Public Library, New York Street Art, Street Life Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York
photographer, Leonard Freed, Shabazz has strived to continue his legacy by drawing his public’s attention to societal issues. The juxtaposition between the statement in the poster “If it concerns you, it concerns us” Fashion Institute of Technology – Fine Art, New York SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS I Am a Man MoCADA Museum, Brooklyn, New York
and the subject lying across the station floor is a powerful and direct message that the viewer is required to confront when looking at the image.
2019 Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam 2007 Black in White America Powerhouse Gallery, New York
Jamel Shabazz’s oeuvre has been, and continues to be is indispensable for capturing the look and feel of New York ove past and recent decades. He vivaciously chronicles New York at an electric time, Keep the Change Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York
documenting the culture and style that can be identified with the emergence of hip-hop. Leather jackets, gold chains and boom boxes for the ‘80s, basketball vests and baseball caps in the ‘90s, his subjects SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2018 J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Free for All Hillwood Art Museum, Brookville, New York
are proud to show off their undeniable “swagger” as they carry out their journeys in and around New York. Thanks to his instinctive eye, Shabazz’s aura-induced images carry through time the energy and Oakland Museum of California, Oakland Reasons to Riot Memphis College of Art, Memphis
vibrancy of these moments shared with the photographer. It is almost impossible to not smile back at their beaming faces. Among these fleeting moments are a group of young boys up to no good on the subway 2019 Gordon Parks Foundation, Honor and Dignity Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC Black Style Now Museum of the City of New York, New York
platform, three ladies on their way to church dressed in their Sunday best, and two lovers saying goodbye on the station’s steps. We can practically hear the jovial conversations between the passengers on City Metro Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne Shoot Out African American Museum, Philadelphia
the bustling platforms, or the silence in the empty early morning carriages. In the spirit of street photography, City Metro documents these passengers going about their everyday lives, showing the city’s humanity, Bebop to Hip Hop Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
and preserving these significant moments in world history and culture. 2017 Crossing 125th Studio Harlem Museum, New York 2017 Group show Whitney Museum, New York
Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne 2005 Saturday Night Sunday Morning African American
2015 Reflections from the ’80s Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne Museum, Philadelphia Collection, Remixed Bronx Museum
2016 5 years – 6 artists Galerie Bene Taschen, Cologne of the Arts, New York
BIOGRAPHY 2012 Represent Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn Public Library, Who Shot Sports Brooklyn Museum Art for Life Russell Simmons Estate, East Hampton
New York
Jamel Shabazz (*1960) grew up on the streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn and since picking up his first camera at the age of fifteen, he has been visually representing urban life in New York. He has made Maison Folie de Wazemmes, Lille 2015 Wild Noise’# El Museo Nacional de Bellays Artes, Havana 2001 Hip Hop Nation Brooklyn Museum of the Arts, New York
a name for himself by capturing some of the most aura-induced and iconic images of the 80s, depicting a time of transition and the emergence of a new lifestyle and culture whose relevance still persists today.
As one of the key people to immortalize New York over recent decades, Shabazz’s quintessential and mesmerizing work continues to influence international fashion trends and global youth culture to this day. 2011 Pieces of a Man Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York 2013 A Choice of Weapons Mill City Museum, Minneapolis
With multiple successful publications to his name, Shabazz’s work has been acquired by leading institutions such as the Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York,
and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington D.C. 2010 Seconds of My Life Time Inc. Building, New York 2012 Rituals of Chaos Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York SELECTED BOOKS
Harlem and the City, City College of New York, New York
2008 Community Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York THE BOX THAT ROCKS MoCADA Museum, Brooklyn, New York Sights of the City Damiani books, 2017
The Romare Bearden Project Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Reflections from the ’-80s Hardhitta Gallery, 2015
2007 Men of Honor African American Museum, Philadelphia Seconds of my Life PowerHouse Books, 2007
2011 Becoming Nasher Museum at Duke University, Charlotte A Time before Crack PowerHouse Books, 2005
2005 A Time Before Crack Powerhouse Gallery, New York Charlotte Posing Beauty USC Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles Back in the Days PowerHouse Books, 2001
62 63IMPRINT © 2019 GALERIE BENE TASCHEN Moltkestr. 81 50674 Cologne, Germany info@benetaschen.com www.benetaschen.com Editor: Bene Taschen, Cologne Design/Layout: Tanja da Silva, Cologne, Bene Taschen, Cologne Collaboration: Tanja da Silva, Cologne Descriptions: Jamel Shabazz, City Metro Text: Charlotte Stovell, Paris Final Artwork: Tanja da Silva, Cologne, Bene Taschen, Cologne Lithography, Production: PPP Pre Print Partner GmbH & Co. KG, Cologne Print: xxxxx Edition 1.000
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