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| Charles "Teenie" Harris |
“Embracing the gray area between objectivity and
subjectivity, information and interpretation, journalism and art, the create
powerful visual reports that transcend the realm of traditional photojournalism.”
Breet Abbott
Engaged Observers:
Documentary Photography Since the Sixties p.1
While Brett Abbott was talking about the generation of
photographers who followed Charles “Teenie” Harris I want to suggest that his
definition of the “engaged observer / documentary photographer” fits Teenie and
his work. Tennie was a photographer who
documented African American life in the Hill District of Pittsburgh from the
1930 through the 1970s. Tennie Harris
took over 80,000 shots over his career.
He chronicled Black life in the Hill District and throughout the city of
Pittsburgh. His work is considered the
most complete document of urban life in American history.
Teenie was connected to the community. He felt what he was shooting. While he was both a freelance photographer
and employed by the Pittsburgh Courier he wasn’t your typical photojournalist. When I visited the Carnegie Museum in
Pittsburgh this weekend to see his work his images moved me. I was taken in by his work. As you look at his work you can see the life
of his subjects. His subjects were not
be captured by the camera but rather liberated by the camera. His images are not still images but rather
they are real images. Teenie’s images
are life giving, life sustaining images as his subjects appear to be connecting
with you as you look at them. There is
life in the eyes of his subjects.
Teenie made sure that the African American community of that
time was not forgotten. He took shots of
the life of times and as a result of his work we remember as he memorialized
the glory days of his community. Of his 80,000 negatives there are very few duplicates. “He did not take unnecessary shots and was
frugal with his photographic materials, which prompted Mayor Lawerence to refer
to [Teenie] as ‘One Shot.’ While other photographers were taking multiple
shots, [Teenie] had taken what he needed and was off to another assignment.”[1] Teenie was a “sure shooter” he knew he had
the shot; he got it, and moved on. He
was sure because his work came out of a relationship with this work that
assured a connection that transcended the viewfinder. In the end he has helped
us remember because he connected. As I
look back at his work I ask what is it of my work? Will my work help us remember?
[1] The
Spirit of a Community: The Photographs of Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris
(Westmoreland Museum of American Art), June 2001., P. 8
This is a great question for you! You have started a beautiful journey allowing you to connect with Sweet Auburn on a greater personal level. Keep shooting and keep connecting and your work will continue to grow and mature.
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