Author Archives: Destiny Kearney '21

The Black Interior by Destiny Kearney

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Hi everyone, here is a draft of my photobook as it is, but not quite finalized.  It actually posted back to front, but I find it interesting because I think this would be readable both ways. As I stated in my proposal, In this project, I aim to highlight interiority through photographs I want to capture the essence of my Blackness by examining my interior. Mentioned In the quote above, I’d like to highlight desire, ambition, fragility, and vulnerability as my guiding themes to support “the interior.” I planned to achieve this by using a combination of people and objects as subject matter. I decided to add in some of the text from the book that doesn’t go directly with any photo in particular but will encourage viewers to think about the concept of quiet as they view. I would like to know what people think of how my images correlate to the concept, and if the quotes help or hurt the project.

Research Proposal – Destiny Kearney

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The Black Interior by Destiny Kearney

Proposal: 

Originally for this project, I wanted to focus on representing Blackness in relation to the physical. I wanted to highlight Black Skin, Black Hair, and the Black body in my project. As the semester comes to a close, I altered my motive slightly and decided to create a response piece to my class Black Heat, Black Cool: Theorizing Blackness, but specifically I wanted to respond to a book we read in a class titled The Sovereignty of Quiet, by Kevin Quashie. Quashie pushes readers to look past theorizing Blackness through the lens of resistance that is public, loud, and dramatic. He encourages readers to analyze the Black experience through the interior, or what he calls quiet. Quiet highlights “one’s inner life—one’s desires, ambitions, hungers, vulnerabilities, fears.” (6). This speaks about the “full range of one’s inner life” that is absent from race/racism but focuses on the essence of their being. So I titled my piece the Black Interior. 

In this project, I aim to highlight interiority through photographs. I want to capture the essence of my Blackness by examining my interior. Mentioned In the quote above, I’d like to highlight desire, ambition, fragility, vulnerability, and spirituality as my guiding themes to support “the interior.” I plan to achieve this by using a combination of people and objects as subject matter. I would like to play around with “black objects”, meaning things I would associate with my culture and/or society would and contrast them with a composed image that I put together. I can’t see the final product at the moment, but I look forward to seeing my ideas play out into bringing the interior into the light. 

This project is important to me because as I think about that course alongside this one along with our current situation, I think about how my art can speak volumes through this time. Being stuck at home reminds me of a lot of the concept of interiority because we are forced to deal with our inner lives at home, but also in our heads. I’d like to use this theme as a way to reflect on the pandemic not directly but focus on my growth as an academic and as an artist by combining the two as I shed light on the current circumstance. 

Timeline: 

4/29:  Buy Props needed for photos

4/30: Start shooting object shots 

5/1: Shots Featuring Myself

5/2: Family Shots 

5/3: Go through photos and select top images +Photoshop / Edit anything that needs work 

5/4: Design Photo book

5/5: Revise label for final and finalize photobook and place order! 

5/6 : DONE!

 

 

 

Photo Books that inspire me

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Patty Carroll : Domestic Demise

This photo book inspires me because of its highly saturated and composed images. I haven’t had the opportunity to play around with color and I admire the cohesion of color, but also somewhat chaotic domestic scenes that she produces in these images.

 

Dan Farnum : Young Blood

In thinking about my subjects, I admire the way this photo book highlights images of everyday people. The lighting on their faces, the expressions they make, and overall quality of the photos is something I enjoy and would like to try to achieve myself.

Photos That Inspire me- Part 1

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Carrie Mae Weems, Colored People, 1989-1990

I love how Weems makes a statement with the use of vibrancy and color in these photographs, while at the same time she makes a bold statement about race by titling this piece colored people. This work is inspiring to me because it takes what was deemed negative and associated with a particular image of “black vs white” out of Jim Crow and she decides to instead focus on color and the representation of Blackness within this vibrancy.

Carrie Mae Weems, Family Pictures and Stories, 1981-1982

These images stick out to me because of the stories they tell. I admire Weems’ ability to capture everyday life while also making a statement. This is something I’d like to experiment with.

Wendy Red Star, Apsa’olooke Feminist 3, 2015, Photograph: Portland Art Museum

This photograph by Wendy Red Star is interesting as it responds to existing photography surrounding the depiction of Native Americans. I love the contemporary twist along with the vibrancy that flows all around this image.

Then and Now- Destiny Kearney

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For these photographs, I decided to take pictures from my family photo archives and recreate them the best way I could. It was a fun activity for me because I got to find old images, but also include my family in the process of recreating them. Looking at these images now, I notice the growth and aging that I’ve overlooked. This activity brought put laughs and memories, and although we are in a global pandemic, it’s allowed me time with my family that I haven’t gotten since I’ve been in college. I hope to continue this as time progresses to continue the act of storytelling through photographs.

 

” I won’t let you fall “

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It’s around 10 pm and my mother, father, sister, and I gather around the dinner table with four shoeboxes filled with old photographs. I rummage through one box as I come across pictures of my mom and dad when they were dating in the ’90s. My parents first started dating when my mom was 14 and my dad 16. I asked them questions about the clothes they were wearing, where they hung out. I began looking at more photos to find images of my older sister before I was born. We laughed and it was a great bonding experience for us. It had been a long and hard week so to share laughs over photos was as if a weight was being lifted. 

Suddenly, I came around to my own photographs. I saw my first pictures, newborn baby, in awe of the world, but evident of the sass and spunk I was destined to obtain. My parents reminded me that as a baby I had such a vibrant personality and I was extremely stubborn.Then I came across this picture, it shows my mother and me at my first birthday party… obviously blues clues themed. My mom tells me stories about my first birthday and how I was scared of blues clues and cried the entire time and refused to walk even though I basically knew how. 

Looking at this photograph I see the protective yet supportive side of my mother and for me, that is her essence. Since before I was brought into this world, my mother has done everything in her power to protect me and keep me safe. She has also supported all of my dreams even when I wasn’t sure of them myself. This is shown in the way she holds me as she crouches down to get close to me assuring me that she will always be there. In her hands as well as with one hand she holds me tightly with a grip that is protective and forceful, and in the other, she uplifts me and holds me up.  My mom has a great balance even now of supporting me in my endeavors, but also giving me the insight that I need to ultimately protect and help me. It isn’t as assertive as this picture where she holds me to prevent me from falling on my face, but she lets me know that she will always protect and support me no matter how old I get.

 

Resurrection After Death – Destiny Kearney

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I decided to dedicate this project to my Nana (great-grandmother) Grace Holman. She lived 95 amazing years and I spoke to her for the last time before she was called home on April 5th. I titled this work Resurrection after death for many reasons as it reflects on the loss of my nana, my spirituality, and Native American Heritage. To make these things real I depicted my emotions, identity and spirituality masked behind very vivid and intense imagery.

My nana was a full-blooded Wampanoag woman who shared her culture with my family and made it known that we should be prideful in who we are. Many people look at me and don’t see this part of my identity despite its great influence on who I am today. I wanted to make this real and visible in these images. Spirituality and connection with the land is a major value within my culture. Although I identify as a Christian, I turn to nature to connect with my ancestors. In nature is where I feel most grounded and connected with them and now her.
As I mourn my great-grandmother’s death, I am also forced to think about my Christian identity as this week is the holy week; marking Jesus’ death and resurrection.

During this time, resurrection after death symbolizes the light at the end of the tunnel. It reminds me that even after great loss, blessings are born. For me, this project has revealed to me the merging of the visible and invisible with spirituality. I have comfort in knowing that my grandmother is always with me and I will one day be with her again. I have hope that this is the fire, but from the ashes, something beautiful will be revealed. I will grow from this and carry on her legacy.