Freedom Now: Photographs by Platon

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November 11, 2011 - April 29, 2012

Note: This Exhibit will be closed April 21, 2012
The African-American struggle for civil rights is the subject of a series created by British photographer, Platon. Seen through a fresh perspective, Platon’s photographs sensitively capture the dreams, fears, disappointments and triumphs of a people who have striven for decades to overcome hardships and achieve equality in our society. Works in the exhibition include photographs of the Little Rock Nine, Dr. King’s Birmingham prison cell, Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Muhammad Ali, and Joseph McNeil and Franklin E. McCain, who were among the students who participated at the famous sit-in for civil rights at the Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960. (Many of these images appeared in The New Yorker issue of February 15–22, 2010.)

Platon, John Lewis, January 2010. Light jet print. Courtesy of the artist

Platon was born in London in 1968. Raised in Greece until age seven, he moved back to London and eventually attended St. Martin’s School of Art where he received his B.A. with honors in Graphic Design. Platon received his M.A. in Photography from the Royal College of Art. In 1992 he won British Vogue’s “Best up-and-coming- Photographer” award. Platon moved to New York City in 1998 where he worked for George magazine. His photographs have appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Rolling Stone, the New York Times magazine, Newsweek, and The Sunday Times and his work has been shown worldwide including in New York City, London, Milan, Tokyo and Paris.

This project is supported by a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation.