Blue Muse
Timothy Duffy's Southern Photographs
Timothy Duffy
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 01/2019
Pages: 152
Subject: Photography, Music
| University of North Carolina
Print ISBN: 9.78147E+12
eBook ISBN: 9781469648279
DESCRIPTION
The tintype is rooted in more than 150 years of photographic
method. In this collection of extraordinary portraits, Timothy
Duffy brings new vitality to this old form, capturing powerful
images of musicians who represent the roots of American music.
These American blues, jazz, and folk artists are living expressions
of a cultural legacy, made and remade by everyday people and passed
down through generations. In the hands of the people in Duffy's
portraits, centuries-old traditions find new expression in this
digital millennium. Likewise, Duffy's photographic techniques fuse
old forms and the original collodion wet plates with modern
lighting. In this collaboration between photographer and artist,
music and image meet around a history of struggle, adaptability,
and creativity. It is this ethos that Duffy captures in his
tintypes.
Some of the musicians in Duffy's photographs have found fame, but
most have not. While the world finds inspiration in the grassroots
creativity of these musicians, barriers of class, race, and place
often keep them underacknowledged and obscured. But in these
photographs, Duffy demands they be seen.