Cotton Gang (after Danny Lyon)

Cotton Gang - (after Danny Lyon); 9/20

On a recent visit to SAM, our local Seattle Art Museum, I wandered through a long hall that displayed on both sides some of the photos of Danny Lyon. They represent several of his in-depth documentary series from the 60’s and 70’s. Included were many from ‘Conversations with the Dead’, photos from within the Texas Penal System that he made over 14 months in the late sixties. Published as a book and considered by some to be his masterpiece.

I was drawn immediately to a photo that depicts black prisoners working in a cotton field, harvesting cotton like slaves all clad in white. At first it felt like he’d been able to go back in time, but this was from 1969. (shown below) The composition was like a harvest scene by Corot or early Van Gogh, but the activity evoked thoughts of the antebellum south.

Even the next day, the scene stuck with me, enough to prompt me to make an homage of sorts to the image that he captured. Currently I’m doing a short animated video of the scene brought to life, the drawing above is one of the frames. I’ll post the clip when I finish it in the next day or so …

From ‘Conversations with the Dead’ (1971 monograph by Danny Lyon)