Does every photograph have a soundtrack? Ming Smith’s long career of street photography, primarily in black and white, makes her a special example of why the act of picking up a camera in search of capturing the things and sounds of the world is accompanied by a feeling of immeasurability. Smith’s relationship with music is manifold, evidenced by her images that reveal her proximity to the US music scene and to characters such as Grace Jones, David Murray, and James Brown, as well as countless blues concerts and improvisation ensembles during trips to Berlin and Cairo. In addition to being thematic, music also drives the poetic process itself and materializes in a number of Smith’s images through their dim lighting, blurriness, the syncopation present in the clarity of a scene, or in the lack of it in photographs that portrait the jazz scene. As a whole, the African-American and Black-diasporic experience in Smith’s work is brought forth through the rhythm, beat, and vibrations of the camera whether its on stage, in worship, at a concert, or in everyday life on the street.

WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION:

Digital prints of analogue photographs, in chronologial order: Dakar Roadside with Figures (1972), 24 × 36 cm; Grace Jones at Cinandre (1974), 60 × 92 cm; Setting the Stage (1976), 36 × 24 cm; Pharoah Sanders and the Bottom Line (1977), 24 × 36 cm; Acid Rain (“Mercy Mercy Me” Marvin Gaye) (1977), 24 × 36 cm; Acid Rain, Little Girl White Socks - Marvin Gaye “Mercy Mercy Me” (The Ecology) 1971 Soul Purrfection (1977), 36 × 24 cm; Soul Purrfection (1977), 36 × 24 cm; Sun Ra Space II, New York (1978), 36 × 24 cm; Chicago Art Ensemble (1979), 24 × 36 cm; Red Hot Jazz II (1979), 24 × 36 cm; James Brown (New York, New York) (1980), 24 × 36 cm; Ailey-Praise (1981), 24 × 36 cm; Black Dance (1981), 24 × 36 cm; Billy Higgins from the series Jazz (1984), 36 × 24 cm; Sunday Light Jazz Concerto #1–#4 from the series Jazz (1984), each 24 × 36 cm or 36 × 24 cm; Self-Portrait (Europe) (1989), 36 × 24 cm; Birds (Miami, Florida) (2022), 60 × 92 cm; David Murray in the Wings (undated), 36 × 24 cm; Untitled from the series Jazz (undated), 24 × 36 cm. All courtesy of the artist