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Through the Lens of Time: Images of African Americans from the Cook Collection is a digital collection of over 250 images of African Americans dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth century, selected from the George and Huestis Cook Photograph Collection at the Valentine Richmond History Center. The digitally scanned images on this site are of prints from glass plate negatives or film negatives taken by George S. Cook (1819-1902) and Huestes P. Cook (1868-1951), primarily in the Richmond and Central Virginia area. The Cook Collection consists of over 10,000 negatives taken from the 1860s to the 1930s in Virginia and the Carolinas. The lens of a camera can both reflect and refract reality, and it is important to understand that a photograph, like any work of art, can tell us as much about the photographer as the photographed. These photographs of African Americans provide an interesting combination of examples of African American life and the white photographers' perceptions of that life, often at least tinged by stereotypes. While some photographs more obviously represent one or the other, it is an interesting exercise to attempt to determine which photographs were taken in a completely spontaneous manner and which ones were posed or staged by the Cooks. These photographs of African American life in turn-of-the-century Central Virginia are valuable both as conveyers of unique historical information and as examples of the nascent art of photography. Their preservation by the Valentine Richmond History Center and their digitization by VCU allows everyone from historical researchers to school children to access and learn from this fine and rare resource.

As one of the world's preeminent photographers, Sally Mann creates artwork that challenges viewers' values and moral attitudes. Described by Time magazine as "America's greatest photographer," she first came to international prominence in 1992 with Immediate Family, a series of complex and enigmatic pictures of her three children. In SALLY MANN: WHAT REMAINS, director Steve Cantor follows the creation of Mann's same-named series on the myriad aspects of death and decay. Never one to compromise, she reflects on her own personal feelings toward mortality as she continues to examine the boundaries of contemporary photography. At her family farm in Virginia, she is surrounded by her husband and now-grown children, and her willingness to reveal her artistic process allows the viewer to gain exclusive entrance to her world. Spanning five years, SALLY MANN: WHAT REMAINS contains unbridled access to the many stages of Mann's work, and is a rare glimpse of an eloquent and brilliant artist.

American photographer and journalist Eve Arnold delves into her relationship with Marilyn Monroe, whom she photographed possibly more than any other photographer. This documentary explores the general relationship between a photographer and her living subject, as well as the specific task Arnold accomplished in capturing a cinematic icon.

Annie Leibovitz, Photographer, "Women" [Random House], "Photographs 1970-1990" [Harper Collins]; 15 Slides from "Women" [Random House]; 5 Slides from "Photographs 1970-1990" [Harper Collins] /// Richard Avedon, Photographer; 6 Slides from work soon to be published in the New Yorker

Acclaimed photographer Richard Avedon discusses his 50-year career capturing the images of politicians and celebrities, the rise of portraiture, and the role of humanity in photography. He also talks about some of his more memorable experiences and his new book "An Autobiography".

links he mentions in the session quest for identity: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,62483906001_1958977,00.html pakistan: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7614290/Ziyah-Gafic-Precious-possessions-in-Pakistan.html troubled islam: http://fabrika.com/ziyo/files/web_web.swf

We talked about portriats mostly in this session