Deborah Willis Discusses Black Photography History and Beauty in São Paulo Interview

In February 2026, artist and scholar Deborah Willis participated in an interview in São Paulo, Brazil, conducted by curator Daniele Queiroz. The conversation coincided with Willis's visit related to the exhibition 'Gordon Parks: A América sou eu' at IMS Paulista. Willis, a leading figure in African American visual culture with over four decades of work, discussed her upbringing in Philadelphia, where her father was an amateur photographer and her mother ran a beauty salon at home. This environment, filled with magazines like Ebony, Jet, Life, and National Geographic, shaped her early interest in images. A pivotal moment came at age seven when she discovered 'The Sweet Flypaper of Life' by Roy DeCarava and Langston Hughes at a library. Willis pursued photography education in New York at the Germain School of Photography and later earned an MFA from Pratt Institute. She faced institutional barriers, including a professor's comment that she was 'taking the place of a good man.' Her career expanded at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, where she began curating exhibitions and researching Black photographers, leading to foundational publications like 'Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present' and 'Posing Beauty: African American Images from the 1890s to the Present.' Willis reflected on themes such as Black beauty, archival practices as political tools, and resistance strategies in imagery. She highlighted the role of Black press publications in documenting community life and discussed Gordon Parks's challenges with mainstream magazines. Willis also addressed her experiences with motherhood, balancing artistic practice with raising her son Hank, and her recent projects focusing on home and migration. The interview underscores her influence on generations of artists and scholars through her interdisciplinary approach combining photography, history, and cultural analysis.