High shows 'Young Americans' through their eyes

Arts and Culture

High shows 'Young Americans' through their eyes

Atlanta photographer Sheila Pree Bright set out to capture Generation Y's attitudes about America in her series "Young Americans," on display starting May 3 at the High Museum of Art.

Atlanta photographer Sheila Pree Bright set out to capture Generation Y's attitudes about America in her series "Young Americans." Twenty-eight of the resulting portraits will be on display starting May 3 at the High Museum of Art. -- Reported by Kirsten Tagami

Bright photographed young people in Atlanta, California, Connecticut and North Carolina. Elizabeth Bunnen was one of the lucky few.

Bright modeled her work somewhat upon the iconic black-and-white portraits shot by great fashion portraitist Richard Avedon. Shanae Rowland rivals any beauty Avedon shot.

"Young Americans" features subjects against a white background, often looking directly at the camera. Here Charles Cauthen does just that.

Bright brought people ages 18 to 25 into her studio and let them decide how to pose with the flag. Joshua Phifer chose to contemplate the American symbol.

Bright asked the young people, including Edwin F. Roman Jr., to give a statement about America and decide what to call themselves. The resulting self-labels form a fascinating road map to young people's shifting attitudes about race and nationality.

One woman called herself "Chinese," although she is a U.S. citizen. Some black Americans called themselves African-Americans and some said simply, "American." But sometimes the pose speaks louder than any label, as Tarrynn Deavens shows.

"Young people born between 1983 and 2000 make up the biggest generation since the baby boomers, but they're often negatively portrayed in our society," Bright told the Winston-Salem Journal in November. "I wanted to give them a platform to speak for themselves, to show and tell how they feel about this country." Thomas Radovich was one of the ones who stepped up to the challenge.

In 2006, Bright won the prestigious Santa Fe Prize, which "recognizes and rewards a gifted and committed photographer who has completed, or is near completion of, a meaningful body of work." Bright's new exhibit shows she has continued to live up to that standard. Subjects such as Morgan Lumpkins surely would agree.

To photograph Jordan Patton and others, Bright used an approximately $40,000 Hasselblad HD3 digital camera to produce the large-scale photos she wanted for the show.

The photos, including this one of Daniel Helms, range from mural-size, full-length portraits to looming head shots and smaller prints.

It's rare for an Atlanta artist to have a solo show at the High, but Bright's work with young American Kathryn Agnes and others demonstrates why she earned the honor. Her relationship with Julian Cox, the museum's photography curator, also helped. He told Bright when she first conceived the project that he would come to her studio weekly to offer critique.

Having been a student once -- Bright earned her MFA from Georgia State in 2003 -- she was able to relate to subjects such as Phillip Osborne III.

Omar Rodriguez bends his head to kiss the corner of the flag, or is he stuffing the flag into his mouth? Only he knows.

Phoebe Augustine's pose is reminiscent of Atlas, with the crumpled flag taking the place of the world as it rests on her shoulders.

When Bright asked Kolin Robinson to pose, he neatly folded the flag as if to adorn a military coffin, placed it on the floor, put his hands in his pockets and looked away. Robinson's brother has been stationed for two years in Iraq.

In stark contrast, Kristen Alexis Kucks of Connecticut put on a pretty dress, held the folded flag in front of her and curtsied.

Donovan Singleton and the other subjects in the exhibit represent a generation benefiting from the social changes wrought during the civil rights era.

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Atlanta photographer Sheila Pree Bright set out to capture Generation Y's attitudes about America in her series "Young Americans." Twenty-eight of the resulting portraits will be on display starting May 3 at the High Museum of Art. -- Reported by Kirsten Tagami

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