View John Simmons: Photography is my Heart Online
Bridget R. Cooks, Ph.D.: Curator
John Simmons has been building an archive of Black American life since he was a teenager growing up in Chicago in the 1960s. His unique observational skills have captured poignant moments that otherwise would have passed unnoticed. The selection of photographs curated for this exhibition is a modest offering of the subtle and beautiful ways in which Simmons stops time and encourages viewers to linger. They provide a sample of a lifetime of documentary and creative work in still photographs that spans over fifty years.
Known primarily as a cinematographer, Simmons started his creative life with collage works on paper and photography. He was mentored by photojournalist Robert Sengstacke whose pictures in the Chicago Defender defined Black American culture in the 1960s and ‘70s. As a student at Fisk University, Simmons apprenticed for the great illustrator and muralist, Aaron Douglas, known as the father of the Harlem Renaissance.
Read the entire curatorial statement here.
