Artwork Page for Chicago (Young Black Man Smoking)

Details / Information for Chicago (Young Black Man Smoking)

Chicago (Young Black Man Smoking)

1970s

Jay King

(American, b. 1944)
Culture
America
Medium
gelatin silver print
Measurements
Image: 33 x 33 cm (13 x 13 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Carl and Joan Schneider 2021.235
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Most photographers see their shots through the camera’s viewfinder.

Description

Jay King looks through the viewfinder with his right eye and keeps his left eye open to see what is happening. That is how he captures scenes and people at just the right moment. He wandered the streets of Chicago for over two decades seeking not newsworthy moments but non-events—interesting “thin slices of time” that reflect the culture of the time or a mood or expression like this young man smoking on a summer day.
A gelatin silver print close-up depicts a shirtless young Black man facing forward. He holds a lit cigarette in his mouth, his hand raised with fingers spread. Harsh light from our right casts half his face and chest into deep shadow, while fine grains of sand, like stippled highlights, cling to his skin. His steady gaze and a small earring in his right ear emerge from the bright, monochromatic background.

Chicago (Young Black Man Smoking)

1970s

Jay King

(American, b. 1944)
America

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