Robert Earl "June" Lewis, Angola, Louisiana 10 - 1999

This is a photograph by Deborah Luster, titled Robert Earl “June” Lewis, Angola, Louisiana. The sepia tone gives the image a feeling of something found, an artifact. The man looks straight out at us, he is centered, and holding a sign that reads "FREEDOM". It’s the tonality that grabs me, it's not quite black and white, but a muted, almost antique feel which is created through the photographic process. The image surface has imperfections, scratches and marks, which is unusual in photography, but these become part of the image, adding to the weight of the message. Look at the edges of the image, they are rough and imperfect, like a memory fading at the edges. Then look at the hands of the sitter, they hold the sign with the word freedom scrawled on the page, its a powerful message, and beautifully understated. This reminds me of the work of Dawoud Bey, both artists capture intimate portraits of people and communities. The conversation between art and activism continues.