Young Woman Between Carrolberg Place and Half Street

Bey's career in photography was inspired by the experience of seeing the controversial exhibition "Harlem on My Mind" at the Met in 1969. It was here that he first encountered the work of James VanDerZee, the photographer of the Harlem Renaissance whose collective portrait of an emerging African-American middle class represents one of the pinnacles of American photography. VanDerZee's model was further recommended by the dearth of positive or even neutral images of black culture in the 1960s and 1970s except the stock stereotypes seen in advertising, television, and movies. In the mid 1980s, Bey shifted from using a handheld 35mm camera to working with a 4-by-5 inch Polaroid. This new format allowed the artist to instantly provide his subjects with an image while he retained the negative, and gives them the opportunity to voice their opinions the moment their likeness is taken. For Bey, it was an ideal way to combat the inherent hierarchy of photography, which traditionally privileges the photographer or the person in possession of the image.