Two Young Men on Carrollsburg Place, Washington, DC Possibly 1989 - 1999

Curator: Dawoud Bey's gelatin silver print, "Two Young Men on Carrollsburg Place, Washington, DC", made sometime between 1989 and 1991, really captures a moment in time. Editor: It's striking, isn't it? The stark black and white gives it a real sense of gravity. There's an immediate feeling of introspection I get looking at the boy on the left. Curator: Right, and think about the material itself – the gelatin silver print, a process refined over decades. It's a tangible object, made through careful labor, and its very existence speaks to the economics of art and access. It's not a digital image; it's something that required skill and resources. Editor: Exactly, and beyond the surface, Bey’s focus on African American youth is so important. Considering it within the context of late 20th-century socio-political dynamics highlights issues of representation, race, and class. Their gaze, their stance… It communicates a sense of resilience. Curator: It makes you think about production – both in terms of image making and societal production. How are young Black men manufactured, codified through social expectations, or media representations? Bey presents this quiet act of resistance merely through these photographic choices. Editor: Absolutely. The photograph challenges the one-dimensional narratives too often imposed. The act of looking becomes an act of engagement. How do we see these young men? How *should* we see them? It speaks to representation as a form of power, challenging the historical absence of Black figures in visual culture, forcing viewers to actively confront and question ingrained assumptions and biases. Curator: And in a physical sense – those assumptions or biases might be reproduced depending on how museums showcase it or provide or deny access for viewing it, right? The access to material like this determines the narrative. Editor: Precisely. The image serves as a testament to individual narratives amid systemic constraints. I keep wondering what their futures look like. Curator: A sobering thought to keep with you. It underscores how even a simple photograph like this requires considering labor and how that intersects with questions of value and consumption. Editor: Yes, this photograph reminds me of how the stories and images that go unseen reinforce larger structures of inequality. Thank you.