For Black History Month, I want to share with you the work of three photographers that are very important and influential to me. Dawoud Bey’s work is semi-sacred to me. His was the first photographic work that I consciously knew was created by a black person and he also showed an unconditional dignity to his subjects. Whether his on location work or his studio work, I am constantly entranced by Dawoud’s ability to document black individuals and tell our stories through images. His 20x24 inch studio Polaroids from the 90s are amongst my favorite works of art of all time. Gordon Parks is another black man using the photographic medium that was highly influential on my development as a creative. Though his work is exquisite, the breadth of ways of creating that he executed on is what influenced me the most. Parks showed me that not only did you not have to stick to one form of photographic creation, but that you can execute across multiple mediums to tell the stories that you want to tell. He showed me that black men could be Renaissance men as well and that you did not need to deeply specialize to be successful as a creative. Carrie Mae Weems changed the entire way I looked at photography and the role of presentation in storytelling. Her use of various different means of presenting her work to communicate her ideas blew my mind. No longer did I think photographs were to only be matted, framed, and hung on a white cube wall. The Jefferson Suite had the largest impact with the images no longer being hung on walls but printed on muslin and draped from the ceiling to create an installation work instead of a simple wall based exhibition. Weems was also one of the first heroes of mine that I met in person and my signed copy of her book “Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video,” is still one of my most prized possessions. Who are your favorite photographers? Let me know in the comments. Like, Share, Comment. #justindwaunredding #justin #dwaun #redding #spatialmusings #cozy #staycurious #staymusing #design #photography #fashion #streetwear #menswear #creativedirection #artdirection #film #movies #february #blm #blackhistorymonth (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLJz6wdAXRm/?igshid=1py6k1ntl97x7