Class Pictures

by Dawoud Bey (Photographer), Jock Reynolds (Contributor), Taro Nettleton (Contributor)

For the past 15 years, Dawoud Bey has been making striking, large-scale color portraits of students at high schools across the United States. Depicting teenagers from a wide economic, social and ethnic spectrum--and intensely attentive to their poses and gestures--he has created a highly diverse group portrait of a generation that intentionally challenges teenage stereotypes.

Bey spends two to three weeks in each school, taking formal portraits of individual students, each made in a classroom during one 45-minute period. At the start of the sitting, each subject writes a brief autobiographical statement. By turns poignant, funny or harrowing, these revealing words are an integral part of the project, and the subject's statement accompanies each photograph in the book. Together, the words and images in "Class Pictures" offer unusually respectful and perceptive portraits that establish Dawoud Bey as one of the best portraitists at work today.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art

163 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Dawoud Bey (New York, 1953) has for decades made groundbreaking and evocative work about the histories of Black communities. His numerous honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. A major career retrospective of his work, An American Project, was co-organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2020–22). Bey holds a master of fine arts degree from Yale University School of Art and is currently professor of art and a former Distinguished College Artist at Columbia College Chicago, where he has taught since 1998. His books include Class Pictures (Aperture, 2007), Seeing Deeply (2018), Dawoud Bey on Photographing People and Communities (Aperture, 2019), and Street Portraits (2021).

Reviews

[Maxine Baghdadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Class Pictures displays some of Dawoud Bey's best photography where he focuses on solely portraits of students. Dawoud Bey graduated from Yale University School and currently teaches at Columbia College Chicago. Bey has been creating large portraits of high school students across the United States for 15 years. For two to three weeks, he spends his time in each school taking portraits of the different students. However, as Bey's mission is to capture the different spectrums each student represent (whether it be ethnic, social or economical), he requires each student to write a statement. A statement representing what he/she has accomplished or anything they feel helps personify them. Dawoud Bey displays both the words and the portraits in this book to help you understand each students "statement." I loved this book so much as I was able to flip a page and learn a new story. This book accurately represents the theme "don't judge a book by it's cover." By book, I mean each individual. And by cover, I mean their portrait. I was able to analyze each individual carefully and then read their statement learning what the thoughts of each. A story that I was completely taken by surprise was on page 117, Christopher. You would have never imagined what he went through and his picture completely contrasts his statement, but sometimes that how it is. That's why you should never judge a book by its cover, because you never know what has been scratched beneath the surface.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 'yearbook' of urban teenagers from around the country is a mix of sensitive photos and insightful snaps of the life of the subjects. What struck me was page after page of different faces, backgrounds, nationalities, that they all blended together into one idea of 'adolescence.' Being a teenager sucks - but it also is pretty exciting. I would highly recommend taking a look into this - especially if teenagers tend to get on your nerves. It's a great reminder of the questioning and pressures that are a daily part of people in this stage of life.

[Taija]

2008 top ten quick picks for reluctant young adult readers

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pompous forward by Jock Reynolds, but amazing other than that.

[Nativida · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this collection - photographs of high school students that draw you in, accompanied by a narrative in their own words - revealing and beautiful.