Jason Williams
« ICONIC »
Biography:
I am a documentary photographer from Los Angeles, focusing on performing arts, culture and community. My practice consists of assignment photography for arts institutions and non-profits, as well as long-form documentary projects for editorial clients. My inspiration is the Harlem Renaissance, a period of creative and commercial excellence in the vibrant African American community of Harlem, New York in the 1920s-30s. The writers, artists and photographers of this era, along with those photographers that documented the world from the end of WWII through the 1960’s, fuel my pursuit of images that reveal the myriad experiences and culture of humankind. I am particularly engaged in documenting cultural, intellectual and commercial excellence in the African diaspora. I'm currently producing a documentary project focused on dance traditions in North America, Africa and South America with specific intent to highlight the common themes of community, joy and resistence expressed on these continents through dance.
https://www.dobleimages.com/
https://instagram.com/jdubblevision
ICONIC
“ICONIC” is centered on the Los Angeles Ballroom/Vogue scene, which encompasses fashion, styling, dancing and other theatrical expressions of the LGBTQ+ community.
Voguing and ballroom were started in the 1980s, in Harlem. Its roots go back to the beginning of the twentieth century, where a distinctly Black LGBTQ culture took shape in Harlem. Forbidden from participating in ballroom scenes of their counterparts, Black and Latino created their own scene that has continued to current day.
Through dance, drag queens showed how gender is a performance – they pretended to put on makeup or “beat face”, style their hair, and put on extravagant clothes. This creative performance through voguing was even used to peacefully settle disputes among rivals in an environment that assumed a degree of mutual respect and compassion. Using dance and channeling personas of grandeur, the voguers would “read” each other (compete). Ultimately, the winner would be the person who “threw the best shade.”
My photo essay follows balls in Los Angeles, where the scene has garnered appreciation and following from a diverse base of fans.
Some images from the series
