The Smithsonian's American Art Magazine, Fall Issue, runs Mitchell Funk's "Black Hippie Girl 1969 " as a full-page. It was part of an article by Art Historian Patricia Failing on trail-blazing Black Curator Henri Ghent of the Brooklyn Museum. Funk's photograph of a voguish black girl was a grab shot, but it looks like a set-up fashion shoot. In 1969, Bethesda Fountain was a weekend gathering place for the radical and hip people of the time. Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were regular speakers there. Portrait of a fascinatingly attractive Hippie Girl is a quintessential image that sums up the joyful era of peace and love. The image suggests a willful collaboration between the artist and the model. In fact, it's just a magical moment grab shot where a girl glances into a photographer's lens. That instant is captured, and the result is mesmerizing. Although the image was taken 57 years ago, it looks very contemporary. In 1970, photography as art was considered only marginally. Ghent's "Images en Couleur" photography show at the Brooklyn Museum's Community Gallery was a pioneering moment in color photography.
February 21, 2019