Bill Gaskins

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Bill Gaksins
Born (1953-05-25) May 25, 1953 (age 70)
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
Occupation(s)photographer, scholar
SpouseNoliwe Rooks
Websitebillgaskins.com

Bill Gaskins (born May 25, 1953[1]) is an American photographer and academic. His work explores the intersection of black hair and critical analysis of the portraiture in the 21st century. In his book Good And Bad Hair: Photographs,[2] Gaskins tackles the role of hairstyling and the representation in African American culture and he also examines the transcultural role of hair, adornment of ornaments and personal identity with the body.

Life and education[edit]

Gaskins received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Tyler School of Art, a Master of Arts Degree from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He was a 2008 Artist-in-Residence at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation.

Academic work[edit]

Bill Gaskins has previously taught in the American Studies Program and the Department of Art at Cornell University.[3] He has also taught at Parsons the New School, and the graduate program in Media Studies in The New School for Public Engagement. His lectures focus on an examination of race and visual representation of the black portraiture and black women. He also has conducted workshops on the history of photography.

Photography[edit]

Gaskins has exhibited his photography including a group exhibition at the Jersey City Museum that also included work by Renée Green, Chitra Ganesh, Simone Leigh and Sharon Louden, and a screening of his short film, The Meaning of Hope at Detroit Institute of Arts.[4][5]

His series of photographs The Cadillac Chronicles depicts black men with their Cadillacs.[6] It was inspired by a Baltimore tradition, the Cadillac Parade, and explores the symbolism of the Cadillac as an emblem of male power and middle-class status.[7]

His book Good and Bad Hair (1997) depicts African American hairstyles, and was based on a 1996 exhibition at Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery.

His work was also shown in the 2003 group show HairStories at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art: the Phoenix New Times called his "Tireka and Tamana, Easter Sunday, Baltimore, Maryland", a photograph of two women against the landscape of industrial Baltimore, and his photographs of African-American hair shows "the most fascinating photos of all" in the exhibition.[8]

"Tamara and Tireka" also featured in a Smithsonian Institution exhibition Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present in Los Angeles.[9]

In 2017, Gaskins spent time researching "The Black Photographers Annual," a four volume anthology published between 1973 and 1980.[10][11]

Books[edit]

  • Gaskins, Bill (1997). Good and Bad Hair. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0813524757.

Selected essays[edit]

Exhibitions[edit]

Gaskins photography has been included in several exhibitions.

Year Title Location Notes
2022 A Picture Gallery of the Soul Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota Co-curators: Herman Milligan and Howard Oransky. 111 photographers including Gaskins (prints from The Cadillac Chronicles), Dawoud Bey, Rashid Johnson, Bobby Holland and Carrie Mae Weems.[12]
2022 Black Mystery Month Clifford Gallery, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY Solo exhibit featured 30 photographs, each a black and white image of a figure that had an impact on African American culture in the United States.[13]
2016 Framing Beauty: Intimate Visions The Grunwald Gallery, Indiana University Curator: Deborah Willis. Photographers included Gaskins, Omar Victor Diop, Kalup Linzy, Gordon Parks, Ji Yeo and others. ISBN 9780253026972
2012 Wounding the Black Male: Photographs from Light Work Collection Light Work, Syracuse, NY Curators: Cassandra Jackson, Sarah Cunningham. Photographers included Gaskins, Hilton Braithwaite, Renee Cox, Willie Middlebrook, Clarissa Sligh, Hank Willis Thomas and others.[14]
2001 Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers Brooklyn Museum of Art Exhibit featured works by 94 photographers including Gaskins, Anthony Barboza, Roland L. Freeman, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe and others. ISBN 9780872731448
2000 Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present Smithsonian Museum, Washington, D.C. Curator: Deborah Willis ISBN 9780393048803

Collections[edit]

  • Sprint Corporation Art Collection. Acquired Exercising Benefits (2002), three triptychs surrounded by photographs of Sprint employees using the company's fitness center.[15]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ "Gaskins, Bill, 1953–". Library of Congress Name Authority File. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  2. ^ Gaskins, Bill. "Bill Gaskin Book Reviews".
  3. ^ King, Jamilah (June 23, 2014). "Kara Walker's Sugar Sphinx Evokes Call From Black Women: 'We Are Here.'". Color Lines. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Hayes, Melissa (February 15, 2010). "Hair inspires exhibit at Jersey City Museum". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. ^ "Special Event: The Meaning of Hope". Detroit Institute of Arts. 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  6. ^ Okeke-Agulu, Chika (2014). "Bill Gaskins's The Cadillac Chronicles: A Conversation with Chika Okeke-Agulu". Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art. 2014 (35): 120–133. doi:10.1215/10757163-2827921. S2CID 191990600.
  7. ^ Maschal, Richard (July 26, 2008). "The Cadillac Chronicles". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  8. ^ Vanesian, Kathleen (December 4, 2003). "Day of the Dreads". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  9. ^ Holmes II, Emory (July 21, 2002). "Breaking Away From Pictures of Stereotypes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  10. ^ Archibold, Randy (May 15, 2017). "An Elegant, Lyrical Look at Black Lives by Black Photographers". Lens Blog. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  11. ^ Archibold, Randy (May 15, 2017). "An Elegant, Lyrical Look at Black Lives by Black Photographers". Lens Blog. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  12. ^ Eler, Alicia (September 20, 2022). "'A Picture Gallery of the Soul' presents the Black American experience". Star Tribune. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  13. ^ Karkhanis, Maya (April 1, 2022). "Bill Gaskins' 'Black Mystery Month' Exhibition at the Clifford Gallery". The Colgate Maroon-News. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  14. ^ "Wounding the Black Male: Photographs from the Light Work Collection | Light Work". www.lightwork.org. January 17, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  15. ^ ""Exercising Benefits" (2002) by Bill Gaskins". The Kansas City Star. August 18, 2002. Retrieved March 13, 2023.

External links[edit]

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