Donald E. Camp: Dust Shaped Hearts

Donald E. Camp... Man Who Hears Music/ Andre Raphael Smith (from Dust Shaped Hearts series, 2006, Photographic Casein Monoprint, Casein and raw earth pigment on archival rag paper. From Donald E. Camp: Dust Shaped Hearts. "...Donald Camp’s intimate portraits resemble great American landscapes. The weathered plains and deep ravines are the terrain of men and woman who have been tested and challenged throughout their lives. Camp’s recent work builds upon his earlier portraits, which confronted negative stereotypes of African American men. Appropriating the basic form of the crime-related headshot — a frequent representation of African American men in the media — Camp countered stereotypes with portraits of African American men who have, without acknowledgement, enriched our country and our culture. In his work, Camp has presented musicians, writers, artists, judges, and many others. Each tightly constrained portrait exhibits the emotional and, in some cases, physical scarring from the struggle to succeed in a marginalizing world."