Stereo Propaganda

“A Day Most Pleasant (Mary Virginia Montgomery),” 2006.

This project has its roots in my travels over twenty years to Mound Bayou, Mississippi, the largest predominantly African American town in the United States. Mound Bayou was founded in 1888, a century before my first visit, by Isaiah T. Montgomery and his cousin Benjamin Greene, former slaves of Joseph Davis, brother of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. The self-determination and fierce independence of Mound Bayou’s founders and citizens—especially the idea of slipping through the color line—inspired a reimag-ining of racial stereotypes through the themes of skin color, race, identity, and ritual.

“Stereo Propaganda” surveys African Americans depicted in stereography, an early photographic medium, as well as images of African Americans from the Milburn Crowe Collection. It uses the diary of Mary Virginia Montgomery, one of the first teachers in Mound Bayou, as a vehicle to step into an imagined space, where stereocards (photographic images attached to a 3 × 7–inch card and then viewed through a stereo viewer) are combined with a variety of media to examine the construct of race. In this examination, magic and myth—two of my favorite vehicles—act as buffers to the dominant power structure.

An interdisciplinary endeavor, “Stereo Propaganda” incorporates research into narrative (oral history), documentary photography (including family photographs), and photography-based mixed media (creativity and fine art). It brings together two bodies of collectibles, one personal and one commercial, with the intent of shifting stereotypes about race and southern culture, and, in so doing, shed new light on the ability of African Americans to combat negative portrayals in commercial imagery through an emphasis on collected family photographs.

“Hurricane (Exterior),” 2006.

“Hurricane (Interior),” 2006.

“At the Market (Interior),” 2006.

“At the Market (Exterior),” 2006.

“Sisters on a Rice Raft,” 2006.

“The Cloud Gatherers,” 2004.

“I Know Who,” 2006.

“Do What I Say,” 2006.

“This Ain’t No Paradise,” 2006.

“Strolling Through Your Dreams,” 2006.