SEMINARS
LEICA PRESENTS:
The Leica Talks: When Living is a Protest with Ruddy Roye
Thursday, May 9th 1:00pm – 2:00pm
When Living is a Protest was inspired by a few words I read by philosopher Albert Camus, “When a soul has suffered, it develops a taste for the misfortune.” It was as if everything I have seen throughout my life made sense. Life is not without its scars—there are still memories and vestiges of the toll “the struggle” had on a race of people – a people still trying to find equality in this country. Recently news of black men and women being killed by members of law enforcement has raised the consciousness of this country to see how black folks have actually been living. With the increase in social media platforms and the use of smart phones to both document and record everyday life, the United States and the World on a whole are seeing firsthand the evidence of complaints that can be traced back to the death of Emmett Till. In 2015, I began walking around Brooklyn, South Carolina, Mississippi, Memphis, Manhattan, and Ferguson photographing, recording and reading the tales of those whose living is a testimony to this ongoing struggle. My work is my attempt to show a glimpse into what it means to live in “the struggle.” From photographing everyday life in places like South Carolina, Memphis and Mississippi, and documenting some of the tumultuous protests from the streets of Ferguson and New York City, I show you the faces of those whose lives are spent in protest.” – Ruddy Roye
Price: FREE
FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY Maggie Steber’s “The Secret Life of Lily LaPalma” talk.
Biography
Radcliffe Roye is a Brooklyn-based documentary photographer specializing in editorial and environmental portraits and photo-journalism. A photographer inspired by the raw and gritty lives of grass-roots people, especially those of his homeland of Jamaica, Radcliffe strives to tell the stories of their victories and ills by bringing their voices to matte fibre paper. Recently, Radcliffe began experimenting with interpretative photography, preferring to allow the abstract content within the frame to dictate the voice and purpose of the image. His Elements series focuses on the bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery, that is trapped behind a diffused lens. With painterly sensibilities, Radcliffe uses this diffused methodology to subtly awake the subconscious and expose the isolated figure or vision painted within a rhetorical frame.
