Posing Beauty: African American Images From the 1890s to the Present February 4, 2011

'Posing Beauty' explores the ways in which African American beauty has been represented in the media in both historical and contemporary contexts. In three thematic sections, 'Constructing a Pose', 'Body and Images' and 'Modeling Beauty and Beauty Contests', the exhibit examines contemporary understandings of beauty by framing the notion of aesthetics, race, class and gender within art, popular culture and political contexts. 'Posing Beauty' features approximately 125 works drawn from public and private collections and will be accompanied by a book by the curator of the exhibition, Dr. Deborah Willis, Chair of the Photography and Imaging Department at New York University.