The Black List Project: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Elvis Mitchell

    November 21, 2008–March 29, 2009

    Serena Williams, Chris Rock, Colin Powell, Toni Morrison, Russell Simmons, Al Sharpton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Sean Combs are among the many African Americans whose faces are seen and whose voices are heard in this exhibition about being Black in America. The exhibition includes twenty-five portraits by internationally renowned photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, along with excerpts from a series of filmed interviews directed by Greenfield-Sanders and conducted by noted film critic Elvis Mitchell.

    The exhibition’s images, both photographic and filmed, are the core of a collaboration between Greenfield-Sanders and Mitchell that has resulted in The Black List: Volume One, an HBO documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008; the exhibition itself, which is on a national tour organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and an accompanying book.

    In addition to the large-scale portraits, which feature stellar subjects from the worlds of politics, the arts, sports, religion, and business, the exhibition includes two flat-screen monitors playing selections from the HBO film on a continuous loop. The entire film will be presented at various times, to be announced, throughout the run of the exhibition.

    The project title derives its name from the 1950s Communist witch hunt led by Senator Joseph McCarthy and plays on various connotations of the word black through the experiences of the twenty-five subjects. Toni Morrison discusses her early interest in literature; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recalls an encounter with Miles Davis; Lou Gossett, Jr., describes his difficulties in finding good film roles even after he was awarded an Oscar; Studio Museum of Harlem director Thelma Golden reflects on being mistaken for her own assistant; and Chris Rock satirizes Hollywood’s idea of being African American.

    Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ photographs are in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Brooklyn Museum. A contributing photographer to Vanity Fair, Greenfield-Sanders is also the producer and director of the Grammy award–winning 1997 film Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart.

    Elvis Mitchell has hosted “The Treatment,” a nationally syndicated radio program produced at National Public Radio affiliate KCRW in Los Angeles, since 1996. He is also entertainment critic of NPR’s “Weekend Edition.”