BLACK PORTRAITURES {I} PARIS, FRANCE
VILLA LA PIETRA IN FLORENCE, ITALY
IMAGING THE BLACK BODY AND RE-STAGING "ORNAMENTAL BLACKNESS" IN HISTORY
Deb Willis - On Villa La Pietra,
When I first visited New York University’s Villa La Pietra in Florence, in 2013, the idea of photographing the interior spaces and decorative artworks captured my imagination. This photographic project offers a visual, comparative perspective of the historic and contemporary roles the black subject has played in preserving memory, the presence of beauty, and the labored black body in Italy from the 15th century until now.
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS:
Ellyn Toscano - Villa La Pietra/New York University
Henry Louis Gates - Thee Hutchins Center W.E.B. DuBois Institute/Harvard University
Deborah Willis - Photography and Imaging/NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Awam Amkpa - Social and Cultural Analysis/NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Manthia Diawara - Institute of African American Affairs/New York University
Robert Holmes J.D. New York University Alumni
Thelma Golden - Studio Museum in Harlem