Carlos Diaz | The Confederate Monument in the American South
No single phenomenon has had more direct and impactful repercussions on the shaping of our countries historical and contemporary conditions, as that of race. As a person of color, there is no experience without that single piece of reality. In a general sense, this project, The Confederate Monument, in the American South, questions how race is intertwined with history, memory, place and how they manifest and reconcile within a contemporary American experience.
The motivation to do this work began early in the summer of 2017. While vacationing in the west, I read a short newspaper article entitled, “Confederate Monuments Reopen Old Racial Wounds.” Until then, I knew and thought little about these vernacular symbols, their connection to the American Civil War, the ethos of the south and the collective American understanding. The consequence, of having read this article was an immediate determination to learn more about these historical markers. As a result, I made the commitment to travel throughout the south later that summer, to see the monuments and the southern landscape first hand.
Central to this endeavor, was the question of how as a photographer, I would respond to the monuments and to the southern landscape, both of which I would experience for the first time. This journey would represent an evolution of my long-term interest in representing the American landscape, as a means of examining the perpetually shifting historical, cultural and political facts and fictions of our country. The resulting images, The Confederate Monument, in the American South, were made while traveling almost 20,000 miles throughout the south, eating southern food and living out of the back of my Subaru. I now understand and accept significant experiences and stages in life as individual journeys. With sometimes distinct and sometimes less defined, spans of time and space, my personal photographic projects are much the same.
www.https://www.carlosdiazphotography.com/
Video of Artist Talk
Wednesday, October 21st 6:30 PM EST
Artist Info
Carlos Diaz was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He is currently a Professor and former chairman of the Photography Department (1994-2000) at the College for Creative Studies where he has taught for 38 years. Before that time Diaz taught at Bowling Green State University and the University of Michigan, School of Art.
Diaz received his BFA from the College for Creative Studies in 1980 and his MFA from the University of Michigan, School of Art in 1983. Before his formal studies in the arts, Diaz was a mechanical designer and draftsman in numerous capacities AND in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s, a drummer in rock and roll bands. He is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Ford Foundation, NEA Arts Midwest, The Polaroid Corporation, the Michigan Council for the Arts and the Kresge Foundation among others.
Diaz’s work is represented by the David Klein Gallery, Detroit, MI and resides in numerous collections public and private including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Ross Museum, The Museum of the City of New York, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
https://www.carlosdiazphotography.com/