As We Rise

By Elin Spring and Suzanne Révy

Who records the annals of history? The victors, of course. Not surprisingly, we find that the history of art has reflected the tastes of philanthropic collectors who establish and fund museums and galleries. In large part, this tradition has excluded racially diverse artists. That leaves our primary exposure to underrepresented groups in the hands of media outlets, whose primary concern is marketing. Since sex and violence are big sellers, we have been granted a skewed view with only occasional snippets of, say, the everyday experiences of Black communities. Until now. Dr. Kenneth Montague has built the remarkable Wedge Collection, which tells a different story. For this enthralling, insider view of Black identity, kinship and spirit, see “As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic,” on view at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA through December 31^st, 2023.

James Van Der Zee (1886-1983), “Couple in Raccoon Coats, 1932” gelatin silver print, courtesy of Williams College Museum of Art, Museum purchase, Otis Family Acquisition Trust, M.2017.9.16

Dr. Kenneth Montague, a first-generation Jamaican Canadian dentist with a passion for photography and music, enjoyed a middle-class upbringing in Ontario. He didn’t see anyone who looked like him in photographs until his parents brought him to the Detroit Institute of Arts as a ten-year old in the 1970’s. There, he was struck by a glamorous portrait of a couple wearing raccoon coats by the famous New York photographer James Van Der Zee. It was an epiphany. When he grew up and began practicing dentistry, Dr. Montague bought that photograph and then others, and still more, forming what is now the Wedge Collection, named for the shape of the home gallery where he rotated selections from his acquisitions, accompanied by mixtapes he made to produce exhilarating, multi-sensory experiences.

Malick Sidibé (1936-2016) “Nuit de Noël (Happy Club), 1963”, courtesy of the Wedge Collection and Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.

Samuel Fosso, ‘70s Lifestyle, 1975–78, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). © Samuel Fosso, courtesy JM.PATRAS/PARIS.

James Barnor, Drum Cover Girl Erlin Ibreck, Kilburn, London, 1966, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). © James Barnor / Courtesy Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière.

Jamel Shabazz, Best Friends, Brooklyn, New York, 1981, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy Jamel Shabazz.

At first, Dr. Montague’s purchases favored more established artists such as Malick Sidibé, Samuel Fosso, Ming Smith and Carrie Mae Weems. But his father encouraged him to make use of his personal success to elevate a sense of family, lifting as we rise. This became an ethos as Dr. Montague began collecting – and often mentoring – new and emerging photographers like Jamel Shabazz, Liz Johnson Artur, Lebohang Kganye, Xaviera Simmons, Courtney D. Garvin, Hank Willis Thomas and Dawit L. Petros (feature image). The Wedge Collection begins and ends with an ardent sense of community. Throughout the exhibit and accompanying Aperture monograph, photographs are arranged like musical scores, with themes, variations and rhythms. To accentuate the backbeat of Dr. Montague’s choices, the exhibit is presented in three movements: Community, Identity and Power with, of course, tunes from a couple of his mixtapes flowing through the galleries. But throughout, the multifaceted expressions of Black life repeat the same refrain – agency – and it is a joyful noise.

Liz Johnson Artur, Burgess Park, 2010, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy Black Balloon Archive, Liz Johnson Artur.

Lebohang Kganye, Re shapa setepe sa lenyalo II, 2013, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). © Lebohang Kganye.

Xaviera Simmons, Denver, 2008, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy the artist and David Castillo.

Courtney D. Garvin, “Josh and Bre, 2015” from the series In These Clasped Hands, courtesy of the artist, Wedge Collection and Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.

Like any Billboard top hit, this exhibit shares credit with many producers. First and foremost, more than 100 works by Black artists from Canada, the Caribbean, Great Britain, the United States and South America, as well as throughout the African continent, have ensured that the Wedge Collection has redefined the photographic canon. Organized by Aperture, the exhibition was curated by Elliot Ramsey of the Polygon Gallery in Vancouver and Stephanie Tung, Curator of Photography at the Peabody Essex Museum. The superb Aperture monograph As We Rise was published in 2021, with a preface by Teju Cole, an introduction by Mark Sealy and an interview conducted by Liz Ikiriko.

Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976), “Jermaine & Logan, 2002”, courtesy of the artist and Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.

For more information about the exhibit, go to: https://www.pem.org/exhibitions/as-we-rise-photography-from-the-black-atlantic

For information about the Aperture publication, go to: https://shop.pem.org/products/as-we-rise

Feature Image: Dawit L. Petros, Hadenbes, 2005, from As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (Aperture, 2021). Courtesy the artist/Bradley Ertaskiran.