Oglethorpe museum proclaims new exhibit honoring photographer Al Clayton

The Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA) has introduced a brand new exhibition celebrating the profession and legacy of Al Clayton, a prolific photographer whose work captured the soul of the American South.

In addition to greater than 35 images and call sheets, plus numerous private results, the exhibition will function seven never-before-exhibited items from Clayton’s Nineteen Nineties sequence “Lost Things,” wherein discarded objects discovered round Atlanta are remodeled into richly composed shade images.

On view within the museum’s Skylight Gallery can be black-and-white images and call sheets portraying Atlanta’s membership youngsters, drag performers, and LGBTQ+ group in the course of the Nineteen Eighties. A number of Clayton’s private belongings, together with cameras, loops and different tools, will present additional perception into his creative course of.

This exhibition was co-curated by Oglethorpe University alumnus Noah Dake ’23, a pictures main, who labored alongside Museum Director Elizabeth Peterson Jennings to form the presentation of Clayton’s work. The undertaking provided Dake invaluable skilled expertise in curatorial follow and museum operations, exemplifying OUMA’s mission to contain college students immediately within the work of preserving and presenting artwork.

Taken collectively, the images present a young tribute to a dynamic interval in Atlanta’s historical past and proceed OUMA’s dedication to elevating the tales of underserved communities. The museum is grateful to the Clayton household for his or her collaboration and acknowledges the help of group companion Lost-n-Found Youth, in addition to Steven Igarashi of Atlanta Pride, who facilitated the museum’s connection to the Clayton household.

The public is invited to a free opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 26, from 6 to eight p.m. on the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art. In addition, the museum will host a lecture by Jennie Clayton, daughter of the artist, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, providing a private perspective on her father’s life, work and legacy.

“Al Clayton Photography: Lost and Found” can be on view Sept. 26 on the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art.

Featured picture: Al Clayton (June 14, 1934 – April 27, 2014); Charlie Brown, Queen’s Make Up, Nineteen Eighties; Courtesy of Al Clayton Photography, LLC