James Van Der Zee was born June 29, 1886 in Lennox Massachusetts. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Producing the most compelling documentation of that period through his camera lenses. In his early days, Van Der Zee was highly skilled as a violinist and pianist working with such jazz greats as Fletcher Henderson. His love for photography soon surpassed his love for music and within two years he managed to open his own photo studio in Harlem on 135th street. Thanks to his genius ideas for darkroom experimentation, retouching negatives and creating double exposures, he composed images that reflected his clients dignity, independence and material comfort. He characterized that time as one of, achievement, idealism, and success. Van Der Zee's photographs portrayed Harlem in the 1920s' and 1930's as a community that was talented, spiritual and prosperous.
His works brought a tremendous amount of warmth, pride and true insight into the long neglected history of African Americans during that time. I remember the first time I saw a Van Der Zee photograph. It was a photo of a well dressed couple both in mink coats posed with their fabulous vintage car! For a vintage lover like myself, I was inspired and yearning for more! The black and white crisp images of a time when everything looked beautiful. The likes of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Bassie playing at some cool sexy juke joint way up in Harlem. Women dressed in sexy flapper dresses, sweet hats and fur stoles. Men looking fine in dapper suits, hats and spats! A time that my soul longed to relive! I was then Bi-coastal living in Brooklyn NY spending most of my free time sniffing around the old books and ever so beautiful architecture at the Brooklyn Library. I came across a book titled Van Der Zee: Photographer 1886-1983 by James Van Der Zee. The images inside were all that and more! I wanted to dive inside and live in every photograph! Van Der Zee approached photography as an art. Using the Calumet box camera to shoot family portraits, wedding portraits, funerals and lots of beautiful women. He also photographed the likes of celebrities like Bill Cosby, Lou Rawls, Muhammad Ali, Miles Davis and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Van Der Zee's subjects also included returning heroes and soldiers of World War 1, Marcus Garvey and his "Back To Africa" movement, and the hardships of the great depression. All of the photographs confirm that Van Der Zee was an idealist, a dreamer and a romantic at heart. He took pleasure from posing and costuming all of his subjects. Whether they were famous or unknown Van Der Zee treated his subjects with equal respect. He used elaborate backdrops and filled his studio with scenery as though it were a stage, setting his subjects in dramatic situations. After reading Van Der Zee's book I decided to move to Harlem to relic in the energy left behind from one of my favorite decades. I bought a Cannon G10 camera and fell in love with photography just as much as fashion! There is still vibrant energy in Harlem and beautiful architecture and historical monuments from those days. One great monument I found is the old sign from Van Der Zee's GGG Photo Studio that still remains above the door of the original location on 125th & Lennox Ave.
In 1969 New York's Metropolitan Museum Of Art held a major photographic exhibit of Van Der Zee's work titled "Harlem On My Mind". This resulted in him becoming something of a celebrity and with more than forty years into his career, interest in his work increased. "Harlem On My Mind" revealed that Van Der Zee produced the most comprehensive documentation of this period for the better part of the twentieth century. In 1976 Van Der Zee's collection of prints and negatives eventually formed the core collection of the Van Der Zee Institute, which became a permanent installation at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art. Sadly Van Der Zee died in 1983 at the age of 96 of a heart attack only hours after receiving a Doctors Of Humane Letters Degree from Howard University. Leaving behind a legacy of images so compelling that it's hard to see Harlem through any other eyes. A major retrospective of Van Der Zee's work was exhibited at the national Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C from October 1993 through February 1994 solidifying his reputation as the premier photographic chronicler of the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem is always on my mind and in my heart!
Endless Love,
Ronnie.B
