2017 (negative); 2019 (print)
Untitled #2 (Trees and Farmhouse)
Dawoud BeyAmerican, born 1953
Part of a series the artist made in and around Cleveland, Ohio, this photograph contemplates the landscape navigated generations earlier by fugitives from slavery on the Underground Railroad. Cleveland was a final stop before they crossed Lake Erie to Canada and freedom.
The series title refers to the poem Dream Variations by Langston Hughes, an important touchstone for Bey’s project:
To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree While night comes on gently, Dark like me— That is my dream!
To fling my arms wide In the face of the sun, Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the quick day is done. Rest at pale evening . . . A tall, slim tree . . . Night coming tenderly Black like me.
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