Matt Black
April 19th, 2023
Matt Black
By: Connor Albaugh
If there is one person that I am excited to write a blog about and analyze photographically, its the photographer by the name of Matt Black. Black is a US born photographer “born in 1970” (Article #1). He grew up “a vast agricultural area in the heart of the state” which happens to be “in a small town in California’s Central Valley” (Article #1). On behalf of photography, he began “at a young age” (Article #1). He was given an opportunity for his first photography task, which happened to be “working for his hometown newspaper” as a newspaper photographer (Article #1 and #2). This job was important for him, and decided that he wanted to pursue higher education. Black “studied Latin American and US Labor History” at “San Francisco State University” (Article #1). Ultimately, photography wasn’t necessarily a well known subject in his family. He was the only photographer in his family and “he taught himself” how to be a photographer (Article #1). Black is based out of “Exeter, California” and is represented by “Anastasia Photo” (Article #1). I respect Black a lot, especially because he took a career path that none of his family members had taken. Although this meant it would be hard, “something appealing to him” in the sense that he felt obligated and assured in his decision to pursue photography and eventually made it to the big stage for the field of photography.
Matt Black’s biography is quite fascinating, but his photographic style is quite unique. Black is a “US documentary photographer” (Article #1). His first every camera was a “Minolta Camera when he was fourteen” which helped him to capture excellent exposures of his environment (Article #1). The camera he uses now are “Nikon cameras” and has “Zeiss lenses” (Article #1). His images are black and white which articulate a different overall mood and feeling as opposed to color photography which was not available yet to use. Being “an artist from California’s Central Valley, he produces enigmatic narrative works in his native region and in related places that are deeply grounded in societal and environmental concerns” (Article #2). Specifically, his works “are visually intense, emotionally engage, and his work shown the decline of traditional farming life and the rise of its modern replacement in rural California and southern Mexico” (Article #1). This is particularly significant because of where he is from and where is origins are based out of. Not only is he self-taught, but he is self-motivated to find that particular spark or appeal in the photographs he takes to convey the best and most imminent meaning possible. Once he is bent on doing something, he goes after it. For example, Black’s “American Geography Project” which was “a personal portrait of an increasingly divided and unequal America” allowed him to “travel over 100,000 miles across 46 states” (Article #2). This is absolutely insane to think about, especially because he traveled the whole US for one single project and allows his viewers to see different parts of the US that experience hardships and inequality. Not only is that dedication, but it shows just how much effort he is wiling to put into his work. Other projects that Black has had the capability to create photographically are “The Dry Land, about the impact of drought on California’s agricultural communities, and The Monster in the Mountains, about the disappearance of 43 students in the southern Mexico State of Guerrero” (Article #2). Black “is a member of Magnum Photos” which is known for documentary photography (Article #2). He has seen a lot of “marginalized communities in America” which shows “true brutal honestly and humanity” and his photos are known for their “deeply personal approach, emotional engagement, and visual intensity” (Article #2). Black seems to have very detailed and captivating images, most of which brings attention to problems many people in the US neglect or are completely in the dark about.
Black has a lot of different works and series that are so rich in history and visual detail. However, the photograph the resonated with me the most happened to be from his “American Geography Project.” The photo at the top of this blog is from “El Paso, Texas” and was taken in 2015 (Article #3). Overall, the composition of this photograph is very well done. There is a particularly large depth of field, as things in the foreground as well as the background are kept in focus for the sole purpose of Black making a point about what he discovered photographing places. In skimming through articles, El Paso experiences high minority racism and having any population experience racism puts a lot of stress and anxiety on its people. There is a man leaning his head on a telephone pole and this shields him a little bit form the sunlight which seems to be coming from the right side of the image. This is very powerful, especially because this to me shows how overwhelmed he may be from societal pressure. Having this action within the photograph allows the viewer that this man “is hiding in a sense” because of how he may be treated in his particular region. This pose is also indicative of the purpose of this series which the reasoning “for being in the dark” suggests that many people fail to see or are “in the dark” about what certain people in their own state experience and go through. Racism and inequality a very important and serious topic, as the man’s way of leading his head on the pole is an example of why a society doesn’t know or make amends to the treatment of certain interest groups because they simply may not know it is occurring. In such a big state of Texas, this man may feel small in the sense that his voice may not be heard and his experience within inequality and division may be physically and emotionally affecting him. On behalf of the technique aspects of the photograph, there are several things that Black does extremely well here. First off, the lighting is very dramatic. The light comes from the right side of the photograph which highlights the sidewalk, buildings, street names, and the telephone pole by which the man sits his head on. This is done well because everything seems to be illumined except the face and several parts of his clothing to showcase this tension the man experiences in this particular portion of the United States. The lighting is also at an angle where it creates a silhouette of the man being the pole and although there are societal ideas as to why this man may be in this position, the silhouette allows the viewer to use his imagination and the surrounding environment around him to find meaning behind this photograph. Second, the presence of leading lines creates a good flow visually throughout the photograph. The telephone poll allows for the viewer to see the man and him sitting his head on the pole in the foreground, the jail cell like bars lead the viewers eyes to the number on the building behind the man, the sidewalk lines lead the to the stop sign and what streets the man is close to, the lines on the stop sign lead the viewer to the second building as well as the telephone poll, wires, and the partly cloudy sky in the background of the photograph. The viewer can move their eyes from left to right without a struggle of seeing each individual part of the photograph and how it relates to the meaning and reasoning for the creation of it. Last but not least, the presence of shadows are something that I picked up on immediately. There are shadows on the physical body of the man, dividing the telephone down the middle, and on the buildings behind the man. To me, these shadows are indicative of the non-presence of light, but the more evil and ill-centered part of society. Due to the fact that there is a divide and certain inequalities faced by certain populations, these shadows can represent those who encourage these horrible things and the overall emotion people have to encounter and deal with on a daily basis. The lighter side of the pole can represent the good in society while the darker and shadow invested areas can showcase the darker and more evil part of society creeping up on the man and making him feel lower as an individual and lower on behalf of the culture or certain population he is from. The opposing contrasts in the image which show dark grey, lighter grey, medium grey, and black are all indicative of this idea that there is a heavy topic at hand and the mood portrayed of this topic is emotional and should not be taken lightly due to the seriousness of issues inequality and divide create for the different areas in the United States.
Sources:
Article #1 - https://artofcreativephotography.com/professionalphotojournalists/let-the-pictures-come-to-you-matt-black/
Article #3 - https://www.mattblack.com/american-geography
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