Works of legendary black photographer ‘Teenie’ Harris on display in Pittsburgh

Works of legendary black photographer ‘Teenie’ Harris on display in Pittsburgh

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Charles “Teenie” Harris had a photographic mission: going beyond the obvious or sensational to capture the essence of daily African-American life in the 20th century

For more than 40 years, Harris — as lead photographer of the influential Pittsburgh Courier newspaper — took almost 80,000 pictures of people from all walks: presidents, housewives, sports stars, babies, civil rights leaders and even cross-dressing drag queens.

Now, a new exhibit and online catalog is showing the depth of Harris’ work, an archive showing a major artistic achievement that influenced people around the country.

“His shots of everyday people are amazing. People seem to kind of jump off the page,” said Stanley Nelson, an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and MacArthur genius grant winner who has made a number of acclaimed films on African-American artists, business people, and workers.

“They don’t have the sense of somebody kind of looking in and spying on the community. For me his pictures are very unique,” Nelson said.

The Carnegie Museum of Art purchased Harris’ entire collection in 2001, through the Heinz Family Fund.

The exhibit at the museum includes almost 1000 photographs, slide shows, and a jazz soundtrack commissioned especially for the show, which is up until next April. It’s also scheduled to travel to Chicago, Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta in the future.

Online:

Teenie Harris Archive: http://teenie.cmoa.org/Default.aspx