Exhibitions at The Research Libraries

OBAMA: THE HISTORIC CAMPAIGN & VICTORY IN PHOTOS

From December 11, 2008 through March 30, 2009
Latimer/Edison Gallery
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801 (directions)

The exhibition Obama: The Historic Campaign & Victory in Photos presents 100 photographs documenting the campaign from its start with several thousand supporters gathered in Springfield, Illinois on a very cold day in February 2007 to that unusually warm evening in Chicago on November 4, 2008 when Barack Obama delivered his victory speech as President-elect of the United States of America. The images capture the vitality of the campaign and the passion and commitment of the millions who rallied to Obama’s theme, Yes We Can!, as his movement for Change grew and moved forward. The exhibition is curated by Deborah Willis and Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe.

Co-curator Deborah Willis notes, “Photography played a significant role in making Barack Obama both an icon and a subject of curiosity. This unique collection of photographs considers the public and private moments of his campaign. The exhibition includes photographs shot by professional photojournalists and portrait photographers as well as by individuals and students who used their cell phones and video and digital cameras to preserve his image.

Co-curator Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe adds, "Obama: The Historic Campaign & Victory in Photos uses images related to Obama’s campaign to bring to the fore the ideas of image as inspiration for thoughts and how, in our camera-centric culture, specific images can create a visual collective consciousness."

Among the photographers showcased in the exhibition are David Burnett, Timothy Greenfield Sanders, Benjamin Norman, Bob Gore, Dawoud Bey, and Terrence Jennings. It will be on view in the Schomburg Center’s Latimer/Edison Gallery from December 11, 2008 through February 28, 2009.