James M. Mannas
James "Jimmie" Mannas | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 15, 1941 (age 82) Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | African American |
| Education | New York University |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer, film director, cinematographer, writer |
James "Jimmie" Mannas Jr. (born September 15, 1941[1]) is an American photographer, film director, cinematographer and writer. He is recognized as one of the founding fifteen members of the Kamoinge Workshop (1963),[2] which evolved from the union of two separate groups of African American photographers who were based in New York City. His work depicts African American New York City street life, avant-garde jazz musicians; dancers; portraits; landscapes as well post-colonial Guyana which can be found on his instagram.[3] A large number of his Guyana captures are now under the T.T Griffith Archives.
Early life and Education[edit]
Mannas was born in Newark, New Jersey on September 15, 1941. He was raised in a family of thirteen children,[3] who settled in Harlem, New York in 1943.
Mannas was introduced to photography by Shawn Walker's uncle whom he had watched photographing their Harlem neighborhood. Shawn Walker receiving his first camera inspired Mannas to ask his father for one as well. [3] However, Mannas had to work and save money for his father so he can receive his first camera, a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. [4]
After graduating high school in 1958, Mannas enrolled in the New York Institute of Photography, where he received his degree in 1960. He went on to receive a degree in film editing from the School of Visual Arts in 1963. In 1969, Mannas received a certificate from New York University for studies in film and television.[1]
Career[edit]
Photography: Kamoinge Workshop[edit]
In the beginning of the 1960s, Mannas and other black photographers, including Louis Draper, Albert Fennar, Ray Francis, Herman Howard, Earl James, Calvin Mercer, Herbert Randall, Larry Stewart, Shawn Walker and Calvin Wilson, founded the Kamoinge Workshop, through combining two pre-existing groups of black photographers. Draper wrote, “We saw ourselves as a group who were trying to nurture each other.”[5]
They were mentored by the established African American photographer, Roy DeCarava, who became the collective's first director in 1963.[6] It was at DeCarva's Sixth Avenue and West 38th Street loft that most of the group's meetings were held in the latter part of 1963.[2] Mannas presided over the Kamoinge Workshop as president from 1976 to 1977. He was acting director in 1979.[2]
Mannas appears in “The Black Photographers Annual” Volume I[7] and Volume 2.[8]
Film[edit]
Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, Mannas captured public reaction in the Brooklyn neighborhood, Bedford Stuyvesant. The result was the film, King Is Dead, (1968).[3] In 1969, he shot Kick, which documents "a woman's efforts to help her husband overcome addiction."[3]
Selected Exhibitions[edit]
2020
Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop'', Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
2016
The Kamoinge Workshop, Kenkeleba Gallery, New York, NY
2006
Kamoinge Workshop, Curated by Roy DeCarava, Nordstrom Department Stores
1998
Subject Matters: Photography, Romana Javitz and the New York Public Library, New York Public Library Center for the Humanities, New York, NY
1994
Kamoinge Workshop, Countee Cullen Library Branch of the New York Public Library, Harlem, NY
1974
Inaugural Exhibition, International Center of Photography, New York, NY.
1973
Black Photographers Annual Exhibit, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
The Kamoinge Workshop, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA
1972
The Kamoinge Workshop, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
1971
Group Show, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
1970
Solo Exhibit, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn, NY
1966
Perspective, Countee Cullen Library Branch of the New York Public Library, Harlem, NY The Negro Woman, The Kamoinge Gallery, Harlem, NY Group Show, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
1965
Group Show, Black Arts Repertory Theatre School, Detroit, MI Group Show, Howard University, Washington, D.C. Theme: Black, The Kamoinge Gallery, Harlem, NY
1961
Theme: Final Man, Kamoinge Workshop, Glasgow Gallery, Harlem, NY
Public Collections[edit]
- Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
- Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
- Howard University, Washington, D.C.
- Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA
- New York Public Library, Schomburg Center, New York, NY
- New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, New York, NY
- University of Mexico, Mexico City, MX
- University of Ghana, Accra, GN
- University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
References[edit]
- ^ a b Willis-Thomas, Deborah (1989). An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers 1940-1988. New York: Garland Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 082408389X.
- ^ a b c Anthony Barboza & Herb Robinson, eds; Vincent Alabiso, co-editor. “Timeless: Photographs by Kamoinge.” Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2015. ISBN 978-0-7643-4974-4 p. 76 Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Eckhardt, Sarah (2020). Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop. Durham, North Carolina: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-934351-17-8.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sbqZU9jepo
- ^ Berger, Maurice (January 7, 2016). "Kamoinge's Half-Century of African American Photography". New York Times: Lens Blog. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ Duganne, Erina. “Transcending the Fixity of Race: The Kamoinge Workshop and the Question of a ‘Black Aesthetic’ in Photography.” New Thoughts on the Black Arts Movement. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. P.188. ISBN 978-0-8135-3695-8. p. 188. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Crawford, Joe, Editor and Publisher (January 15, 2020). "The Black Photographers Annual, Volume 1". The Black Photographers Annual. 1: James Mannas photo on 48.
{{cite journal}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Crawford, Joe (January 15, 2020). "The Black Photographers Annual, Volume 2". The Black Photographers Annual. 2: 82–87.
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