We talk to Awol Erizku, the man who took the photos in Another View: The Vibrant World of Contemporary Black Artists

The Emmy and Golden Globe-awarded actress Angela Bassett has called our new book Another View: The Vibrant World of Contemporary Black Artists, "A vital record of the present and a powerful testament to the legacies still being created."

The book is an intimate exploration of the studios, living spaces, and creative processes of twenty prominent Black artists working today, enlivening their art practice and creative lives through some really beautiful photographs and insightful interviews.

Among the 150 never-before-published photographs taken by acclaimed artist Awol Erizku are portraits and intimate looks inside the studios of: Nina Chanel Abney; Derrick Adams; Sanford Biggers; Jordan Casteel; Nick Cave; Renee Cox; Leonardo Drew; Theaster Gates (Main image above Theaster Gates, Chicago, IL. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku / courtesy the artist); Rashid Johnson; Titus Kaphar; Glenn Ligon; Kerry James Marshall; Xaviera Simmons; Lorna Simpson; Shinique Smith; Hank Willis Thomas; Mickalene Thomas; Nari Ward; Carrie Mae Weems; and Fred Wilson.

Exclusive profiles inspired by interviews with curator Isolde Brielmaier offer compelling personal advice and unique insights into the art world, giving readers an inside look at the role of art in society, perspectives on legacy, and what it means to be a Black artist today. An illuminating introduction by scholar and critic Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the historical precedents and critical context that led to the exciting current moment of Black contemporary art in America.

Awol Erizku is a conceptual artist based in Los Angeles. His work has been exhibited at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin. Erizku's work is in the permanent collections of LACMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, among others.

We asked him about the experience of shooting each artist in Another View: The Vibrant World of Contemporary Black Artists.

Awol Erizku with Another View-featured artist Glenn Ligon

What did you look for in this project, and what were you trying to bring out in your subjects - inner life, character, professional standing? 
All of the above. I was looking for the interiority and idiosyncrasies of each artist, and for the ideas that connect them, like pearls strung on a single thread. My mission was clear from the jump: make the best images of the artists defining visual culture around the world today, and of the processes behind their work.
 

Theaster Gates, with Yellow Portal, 2012, Chicago, IL. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku / courtesy the artist Industrial oil-base enamel, rubber torch down, bitumen, and wood, 84 × 84 × 5 in. (213.4 × 213.4 × 13 cm)

Which photos are you particularly pleased with?
I’m pleased with the entire book, which includes only a fraction of the images I made while creating it, a process that began in early 2021. Each studio session was special in its own way. I came into every studio with the same intention: to collaborate with the artist to capture the most meaningful, powerful, and seldom-seen side of their practice, the quiet moments, the moments when Deep Work is taking place.  

Derrick Adams, Brooklyn, NY. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku / courtesy Derrick Adams Studio

Was there a particular way each artist wanted to be portrayed? If so, how did you accommodate that while maintaining your own artistry?
I can see how that might be possible, yet I felt that every artist met me with a level of trust I can’t explain. I often left each session humbled by how generous and modest everyone treated my crew and me. I felt they kind of knew I wasn’t there to play around and time was of the essence. 
 

Rashid Johnson, Brooklyn, NY. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku

What surprised you about some of the artists you maybe didn’t know before?
Every artist’s practice is different, but some kept their workspaces far more organized than I expected. My own studio is sprawling, so seeing how certain artists run their spaces challenged an assumption I didn’t realize I held.
 

Hank Willis Thomas, Brooklyn, NY. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku

What was your research and preparation like for this project? Did you look at any of the photographs from the Lord Snowden book The Lively World of British Art in the 60s that partly inspired Another View?
To be honest, I remember receiving a copy of the book from the editors early on. I looked at it and put it away immediately, burying it deep in my stack of other books, never to be found again. Though it was a starting point in some ways, I also wanted to deconstruct that book and rebuild it for a contemporary audience. I recreated Another View as a shot list for a feature film, including extreme wide, close-up, extreme close-up, hero shot, and so on. So I had a guiding list of what to get before I could stop to chat. This kept me and the crew focused every session. 

Nina Chanel Abney, New York, NY. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku

What were the emotions like for you, being in each artist’s studio?
Emotionally, I was enriched after each session, from the lessons I would get from each artist, from visiting some friends like Jordan Casteel or Hank Willis Thomas, even Rashid Johnson. But I’m also grateful for the opportunity to photograph my early mentor, Lorna Simpson, whom I first met as a student at the Cooper Union.

Mickalene Thomas studio, Brooklyn, NY. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku

 
Can you share one or two of your experiences shooting the artists? 
I won’t name favorites, but I will never forget photographing Carrie Mae Weems in her bed. We had planned to drive up to her studio upstate, then learned she wanted to stay in Brooklyn. She had just wrapped ‘Portraits of Fatherhood,’ the Bottega Veneta Father’s Day campaign with A$AP Rocky and his sons. So the moment in the book shows her taking care of business on her laptop and phone, talking to curators about upcoming exhibitions, and being absolutely fabulous. I felt privileged to share that moment with her. She also taught me how to use vertical space, the way she does in the Kitchen Table Series. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

Carrie Mae Weems, Brooklyn, NY. Image credit: photograph: Awol Erizku

 
We hear you have more photographs that couldn’t make the book. Would you share a handful of them with Phaidon.com readers?  
Yes!

 
Look out for our next story featuring a selection of the wonderful photographs that just missed the cut. And get your copy of Another View: The Vibrant World of Contemporary Black Artists here.