In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • The Philosophy of Strangers
  • Franklyn Rodgers (bio)

Click for larger view
View full resolution

Ferron Rodgers, 1997. Bromide print toned, 16 x 16 in.

[End Page 89]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Loretta Rodgers, 2006. Color c-type print, 18 x 18 in.

[End Page 90]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Shango Baku, 1996. Toned silver gelatin print, 22 x 18 in.

[End Page 91]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Nana Ocran, 2002. Bromide print toned, 20 x 16 in.

[End Page 92]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Uzo Oleh, 2003. Bromide print toned, 16 x 16 in.

[End Page 93]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Mahrie Cayenne Elliot, 2003. C-type print toned, 16 x 16 in.

[End Page 94]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Donald Brown, 2002. Color c-type print, 20 x 16 in.

[End Page 95]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Pastor Joe Reid, 1997. Bromide print toned, 16 x 16 in.

[End Page 96]


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Elijah Mills-Morrison, 2001.
Bromide print toned, 16 x 16 in.


Click for larger view
View full resolution

Malika Mills-Morrison, 2001.
Bromide print toned, 16 x 16 in.

There is an excitement adventurers have on the thought of new frontiers and the discoveries that lay ahead of their exploration. Therein lies my kinship when investigating how we think laterally about the portrait and its attachment to the landscape of human relationships. Exploring their boundaries in public and private spaces, external routes of social engagement used to facilitate values of internal development, cultivating a climate in which expressing types of self-representation can be seen as more inclusive than exclusive.

In this context the Philosophy of Strangers constitutes an attitude that inspires possibilities around these fluid ideas. It is a space of risk from which we should draw comfort, our ability to share and connect resonating at the core of our evolution and informing the way we relate to ourselves and eventually to others. If the portrait is literally a poor-trait of an individual and so being "less than" in facsimile, can the portrayal be "more than" because of the engagement? The portrait then becoming a by-product of a much wider picture, allowing one set of [End Page 97] thinking to merge with another, moving them toward a more intimate and mutually creative space. Expressed in this way are the interwoven fibers that create lines of coherence that do not necessarily provide answers but help us pose the right questions in our conversations about the nature of how we relate to this genre.

To underpin this approach we have to contest a fundamental vision within the craft of the photographic portrait, and that is the presiding concept of the image being taken. What if we were to look at it from a different perspective, viewing the portrait as a gift, given in a subtle collaboration between the signifier and the signified in the recognition of mutual consent? A relationship explored in a duality with the narrative. Not just connecting through the opportunity the camera brokers but through the ability to act with that observation. There is an inherent beauty in this kind of engagement that is triumphantly expressed in these portraits, exposing our need not just to be recognized but also to recognize value in the quiet emotional connection that may develop through the way we choose to share on a much deeper level. To give one's image in this capacity requires trust and a belief. My aim is to imbue the sitters with a sense of self of their potential, stating not just who or where they are but what they could be, striving to accentuate a singular vitality in which they speak for themselves as if reiterating their place in the world on their terms.

Much of this body of work has been set in motion by fortuitous meetings with individuals whose character and characteristics suggest links to creative ideas on which I have been working. Our converging paths represent a critique, a counterbalance departing from the often orthodox exchange that is reflective of popular...

pdf

Share