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 With "Colored People", Atlanta photographer Anthony Dowdell literally takes a fresh coat of paint to the look of figurative
portraits. This self-taught artist presents eleven images of nudes painted in bold, bright primary colors countering other
local photographers who remain faithful to black and white.
The dialogues swirling through the crowd were just as colorful as the
images themselves. Each person had their own take on why Anthony chose to paint his male and female models in vivid blues
and reds or why he chose to leave some body parts free from paint making the brown fleshtones another color in his palette.
But all explanations would have to wait until the artist took the stage for the artist's talk.
The eleven pictures varied in color and size across the gallery walls.
The first five photos hanging above the stage were smaller than those along the main wall. A few were additionally cropped
by the mats squeezing the subjects into tighter quarters. The bodies twist out of the darkness and explode into the light.
With the bodies painted and their locks in the highlights, the figures become more organic in appearance. More like plants
growing out of the shadows.
The larger pieces were hung on the man wall. "Taste of Color", "Ancestors
of Slavery" and "2 Sides 2 Me" are large prints forcing the viewer to confront these in-your-face images. In "Taste of Color",
the model, painted in blue, squats down, squints her eyes and sticks out her tongue. Her expression shows this is not done
in fun. The cold blue hue reflects the cold, aloofness in the model's face. "Ancestors of Slavery" shows the most effective
use of the paints, and the viewer is able to make a clear connection between the image and title. The male model, Joe, holds
an African mask in his hands which are bound in chains. His body is painted to precisely match the mahogany grain in the mask.
The mask and body merge perfectly accentuating the bond between man and the symbol of his motherland. "2 Sides 2 Me" shows
a woman painted in a passionate red, but her face is left untouched. She holds a mask to her head and looks the other way.
Despite her fiery body, her two faces appear distant and unattached.
 For his show, Anthony painted his own body in colorful streaks. When he took the stage, he invited all his models to join
him and entreated the audience to direct questions to the models. This could have been because Anthony prefers to stay in
the background. In fact, he considered not showing up at all. The audience was certainly appreciative of his presence and
of the secrets he revealed on stage.
Although Anthony works with nudes, he wanted to avoid having his images
look "lustful". He did, in fact, have a particularly erotic piece entitled "Lustful", but his point was to create something
artistic not exploitive. He did admit that his choice of color photography came from the fact that he mostly sees nudes portrayed
in black and white. He also revealed that he sees people as letters and numbers. He can see a person and immediately know
how to shoot them. Working in the studio, he poses his models to form letters or uses light to imply shapes.
"People of Color" is filled with bold, striking images that literally
leave the mark of the artist on his models and his viewers. Anthony stated that he is looking for a book deal down the line,
but for now is happy that his mom likes his work. For him, that is all that matters. | 