Antonio McAfee Assistant Professor, Photography |
Education
Postgraduate Diploma in Art, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
M.F.A., University of Pennsylvania
B.F.A., Corcoran College of Art and Design
Teaching Interests
I teach this because I help students to develop their unique abilities and discover their own perspectives. In the classroom, I strive to create a place of mutual respect, a stimulating environment which shifts to serve studio work, critiques, and lectures. Risk taking, engagement, and enthusiasm increases when students feel comfortable to ask questions and experiment. Students consider art is reflective of and a conduit into society, and to contemplate how they want to situate themselves within that. It is rewarding to see students discover how they may use their skills and individuality as a vocation, a trade in which they can speak through.
Research, Scholarship or Creative/Artistic Interests
My work addresses the complexity of representation. Through appropriating and manipulating portraits, I engage in prescribed views of individuals and rework images to provide an alternate - more layered image and concept of the people depicted. The photographs oscillate between formal considerations (modifying appearances and prints) and imaginary potential (establishing new back stories and roles) for the portraits.
The main source of the current portraits is The Exhibition of American Negroes organized by W.E.B. Du Bois, Thomas Calloway, and Historic Black Colleges for the Paris 1900 International Exposition. The exhibition was a photographic, economic, and legislative survey of middle-class black people in Georgia. Other subjects include historical figures, R&B/Funk musicians, and transitioned family members.
Professional Website
https://antoniomcafee.net/home.html