When Kali Murray gazes at the dozens of photos hung on the walls of the second floor of the Haggerty Museum of Art, she doesn’t just see images of black history, she sees photographs of her own family ancestry staring back. Murray, professor of law in the Marquette University Law School, is photographer Ellie Lee Weems’ great niece, and even though she doesn’t have many memories of her great uncle, his photos speak thousands of words.
“This is a really important exhibit because it is the first major museum exhibit on his work in the country,” Murray says.
Weems’ photography is showcased in the exhibition, “Visual Legacies:” Photographs by Ellie Lee Weems, which was recorded over a 50-year period between 1901-83, capturing images of African American residents in Jacksonville, Florida. The Murray family’s collection is currently on display, but it’s only a sample of Weems’ considerable archive. The photos are in stark contrast to other depictions of African American life around the country during that time.
Photos of family gatherings, graduations and weddings are on display, showing middle and upper middle class African American communities during that period.
Weems attended Tuskegee University and studied with photographer C.M. Beatty, who trained African Americans at that time, according to Murray. She says his photos reflect substantial intellectual efforts.
“You can see some pictures where Uncle Ellie painted the photographs in pink,” Murray explains. “It was a much more artistic endeavor than just simply snapping a picture. It’s also the breadth of the images that we can see in this exhibit. You can see the changes in the community over time through the lenses of his photography.”
Lynne Shumow is the curator of academic engagement at the Haggerty Museum of Art and says this display, among other exhibits, provides a tool for teaching and using art to make connections to a variety of disciplines.
“Art is a great way to observe, interpret and reflect — a very Ignatian type of pedagogy,” Shumow says. “But there are always ways to connect the art to any kind of discipline.”
Murray sees her Great Uncle Ellie as an intellectual who used photographic storytelling to show Black resilience.
“Lynne has taught me that visuals, like photography, have their own sets of languages and that we need to become observant about how people speak through imagery,” Murray says. “One of the things that has been really empowering for me is to see Uncle Ellie’s thoughtful, intelligent commentary on ways in which Black people existed from 1910-80 — ways that are really thoughtful and intelligent and speak to how he thought African American and Black culture should be depicted as both a sort of artistic vision, but a political and ideological project as well.”
Weems’ photography will be on display at the Haggerty Museum of Art through May 24.
