Graffiti

1978

American, 1919 - 2009

In his record of black life, DeCarava often allows darkness (night or shadow or color) to dominate his prints. DeCarava's visual poetry is rooted in a powerful but understated autobiographical voice. The quiet, sometimes melancholic character of his photographs allows viewers to contemplate life as known to a Harlem artist born in 1919.

Gelatin silver print

9 3/16 x 13 1/16 in. (23.4 x 33.1 cm)

Sheet h.: 11 in.

Sheet w.: 13 15/16 in.

Gift of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co.

82.59

Provenance: The American Telephone and Telegraph Co.; to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1982

Photo: Scott Leen

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, American Images: New Work By Twenty Contemporary Photographers, 1979. Set B, Group V.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, 200 Photographs from the Museum Collection, Dec. 8, 1983 - Feb. 5, 1984. Text by Rod Slemmons. No cat. no.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Presentation House Theater Company and Art Galleries, The Genius of Diane Arbus in Context: 65 photographs from the Seattle Art Museum Collection, June 5 - July 12, 1987.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Collection Highlights: 1945 to the Present, Sept. 12, 1996 - June 1, 1997.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, In A Silent Way, May 18 - Dec. 1, 2013.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Go Tell It: Civil Rights Photography, Apr. 30, 2016 - Jan. 2, 2017.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Semiotics of the Street, Feb. 4 - July 17, 2022.

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