Camara Dia Holloway
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Happy New Year!
This is a portrait of the actress Anna May Wong in tuxedo drag taken by Carl Van Vecthen in 1932. This image is the cornerstone of the introduction to Afrochic, the magnum opus that I hope to complete soon. I argue that this type of photographic portrait and its attendant racial dynamics is emblematic of…
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The Hobby Horse
This empty lot at 205 West 136th Street is the site of a former bookstore and cafe that catered to the black avant-garde. I just learned that my great-aunt went there back in the day. So thrilling!
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Postcards and Bloomsbury black history walking tour leaflets
Originally posted on Drawing over the Colour Line: Geographies of art and cosmopolitan politics in London, 1919 – 1939: We’ve recently created the first of a series of postcards and maps highlighting some of the artwork and histories which touch upon the themes of Drawing over the Colour Line. The postcard created is a reproduction…
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Musings on Mr. Bojangles
In honor of Mr. Davis’s birthday, I present this comparison that I have been pondering since I stumbled across this image of Davis (top) on the web. Mr. Davis performing Mr. Bojangles here is an intriguing counterpoint to my discussion of Fred Astaire’s “Bojangles in Harlem” number in Swing Time (1936). [Props to Elizabeth Abel’s…
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EXH: I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America
An exhibition that I wish I could see: I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America. Bel Geddes designs were very influential on the style of Jazz Age. A little known aspect of his career: the 1922 design of the interior of Palais Royal Cabaret where Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra performed. George…
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The Congo (1914)
Quintessential example of white modernists’ appropriation of blackness: The Congo by Vachel Lindsay, a poem from 1914
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A perfect vision of Carlo
It was great to finally see this in person. Hide/Seek was a terrific show.
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A White Girl Blogs About “Big, Black Thugs” Living In Harlem
The influx of white folks to the new Harlem has led to many a grande folie! Shades of Godmother.
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Mon cher Carlo
A portrait of Carl Van Vechten by E. O. Hoppe. Carlo is a key player in Afrochic. He is a constant challenge and conundrum. Still trying to figure him out…
CAMARA DIA HOLLOWAY 