Exhibition—“Melvin Hollins: The Observer”

About

Melvin Hollins was an African-American armed forces veteran, a Fordham University Lincoln Center Ram, and a gifted street photographer who compassionately recorded the social fabric of New York City throughout the 1970s. This exhibition presents 18 framed archival prints made from scanned black and white negatives in the Ildiko Butler Gallery, and 133 5″ x 8″ pages from the book Melvin Hollins: The Observer, which encircle the entire Susan Lipani Gallery in the Visual Arts Complex.

The images span the geography of New York City and the diverse cultures that call it home. Hollins’ photographs range from direct portraits to candid impressions made from afar, and to images that record the quotidian details of everyday life in New York—buildings, streets, parades, contests, marches, playgrounds, and beyond. Regardless of what Melvin Hollins pointed his camera at, his photographs are marked by attentiveness to form and suffused with empathy and kindness. In particular, his images of children are extraordinary for the complexity and range of emotions they depict.

The title of the exhibition and accompanying book is both a description of Melvin’s photographic practice and a nod to our outstanding student newspaper, The Observer, whose photographs demonstrate extraordinary documentary reportage, as did Melvin’s.

Lastly, but significantly, the color theme for this exhibition is based on the 1970s New York license plate and subway signage.

Curator Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock worked with Melvin Hollins’ son, Jude Hollins, for over two years to edit down 2,600 images for this exhibition and book. Melvin Hollins: The Observer is available as a 298-page, 5″ x 8″ print-on-demand publication with an introduction by Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock and an essay by Jude Hollins.