Description
Book SynopsisArt historian Krista Thompson analyzes photographic practices in the Caribbean and the United States to show how African diasporic youth use the process of creating images to represent themselves in the public sphere and to communicate with other Afro-diasporic communities.
Trade Review"Thompson’s study of light is nuanced and generative. . . . the structure of each section encourages the reader to embrace a protean reading practice, one that resists firmly embracing a single understanding of light, and of its affects and effects. The result is a powerful project that stands to impact multiple fields, while at the same time challenging how we see and understand black visual practices. In the end,
Shine succeeds in reconstituting the very terms of photography and visual technology and their role in the diaspora." -- Autumn Marie Womack * SX Salon *
"
Shine provides important illumination; it shows that nonelite culture holds up to serious academic scrutiny. Particularly given their reach and popularity, the practices Thompson brings to light cannot go overlooked and unanalyzed." -- John A. Tyson * CAA Reviews *
"Ultimately,
Shine is a useful application of tools from the field of art history to popular culture and presentation of self in the technological age.... Cultural anthropologists, sociologists specializing in cultural aspects of race and ethnicity, and scholars of media would find this text a valuable read."
-- Deinya Phenix * Visual Studies *
"
Shine, by Krista Thompson, presents a compelling investigation into the transnational aesthetics of hip-hop, bridging distinct visual practices, artistic forms, and modes of visibility in the African diaspora. Situating her work within art history, Thompson provides rich, multisited ethnographic research that spans the United States, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, allowing her to interrogate the intersecting cultures, histories, and media flows of the geopolitical region known as the circum-Caribbean. From street photography in New York to Jamaican dancehall videos, Thompson brings into dialogue disparate visual and embodied practices to provide a thought-provoking study on the mediation of the African diaspora in the circum-Caribbean." -- Eryn Snyder Berger * American Anthropologist *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction. Of Shine, Bling, and Bixels 1
1. "Keep It Real": Street Photography, Public Visibility, and Afro-Modernity 47
2. Video Light: Dancehall and the Aesthetics of Spectacular Un-visibility in Jamaica 112
3. Shine, Shimmer, and Splendor: African Diasporic Aesthetics and the Art of Being Seen in the Bahamas 169
4. The Sound of Light: Reflections on Art History in the Visual Culture of Hip-Hop 215
Notes 271
Bibliography 317
Index 335
