A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM FOR PHOTOGRAPHER MING SMITH AND THE BLACK DOLL SHOW

Art in Review - Ming Smith - ‘Photographs - 1977-2010’ - NYTimes.com
LAST FRIDAY BEFORE I LEFT THE STUDIO AT PACE, I CALLED MARIE BROWN BECAUSE SHE HAD TOLD ME EARLIER IN THE WEEK THAT SHE HAD SOME NEWSPAPERS FOR ME THAT I COULD PICK THEM UP ON FRIDAY.

SO...

AS I WAS WALKING ACROSS 14TH. STREET AND UNION SQUARE... (MY OLE SPOT LAST SUMMER) I RAN INTO SANA MUSASAMA AND HER NIECE ALIYAH....

WE MADE A QUICK STOP AT ONE OF THE ICE CREAM TRUCKS SO SANA COULD PURCHASE A ICE CREAM CONE FOR HER NIECE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PHOTOGRAPHER MING SMITH PAST BY, TELLING SANA AND I THAT SHE HAD JUST GOTTEN THIS AMAZING REVIEW THAT DAY IN THE NEW YORK TIMES FOR HER EXHIBIT AT THE JUNE KELLY GALLERY IN SOHO.

THIS GRACIOUS REVIEW BY NEW YORK TIMES ARTS CRITIC HOLLAND COTTER, HAD THE IMAGE OF THE SEREAL PHOTO TITLED

"JAMES BALDWIN IN SETTING SUN OVER HARLEM". BY MING SMITH 1997-2010 AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE.


ON HEARING THIS, ALL FOUR OF US FOUND THE CLOSEST NEWS PAPER STAND AND GOT THE PAPER AND CONTINUED TALKING ABOUT THIS EXCITING NEWS (NOT EVEN NOTICING WE WERE SOLD THURSDAYS PAPER INSTEAD OF FRIDAYS.

I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY... I DID NOT MAKE IT BY MARIES HOUSE THAT NIGHT, MING AND I SAID GOOD-BYE TO SANA AND HER NIECE WHO LIVES IN QUEENS AND MING AND I GOT ON A SLOW BUS TO HARLEM WHERE WE FILLED THE RIDE WITH OUR ARTIST "BACK IN THE DAYS" MEMORIES.

THE NEXT MORNING I CALLED MARIES AND TOLD HER WHAT SOUNDED TO ME LIKE "THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK" STORY ABOUT WHY I DID NOT GET BY HER PLACE TO PICK UP THE NEWSPAPERS LAST NIGHT.

NOW... HERE'S WHERE THE ERIE MUSIC SHOULD BE COMING IN.....

THERE WAS THIS BEAUTIFUL SITTING SPOT IN MARIES LIVING ROOM, WHERE SHE HAD JUST BEEN SITTING.... BEHIND THIS TEXTILE ADORNED AND COMFY CHAIR, DRAPED IN NOONLIGHT WAS THIS PRINT ON A EASEL OF A PASTEL DRAWING FROM JAMES BALDWINS GARDEN IN PARIS.

AND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EASEL WAS A PHOTOGRAPH OF MINGS EX-HUSBAND/(HER BABIES DADDY), JAZZ MUSICIAN DAVID MURRY HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THE WRITER JAMES BALDWIN IN HIS GARDEN IN PARIS.


AND THEN.... I WALKED OVER TO THE COFFEE TABLE AND WHAT DID I SEE!?!... ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPH OF JAMES BALDWIN AND HIS BROTHER DAVID BALDWIN (THANK YOU SO MUCH LAURA HARRIS FROM WASHINGTON D.C. FOR THE CORRECTION, DO YOU APROVE?)....

AND I AIN'T THROUGH YET... THEN MARIE SAID SHE HAD JUST READ MINGS REVIEW AND DISCOVERED THAT SHE HAD TWO COPIES OF THE REVIEW INSTEAD OF ONE AND SHE GAVE THE EXTRA COPY TO ME SO I FINALLY GOT TO ACTUALLY READ THE HARD COPY....

NOW... I ASK YOU... IS THIS COSMIC OR WHAT!?!....

YET ANOTHER ONE OF THEM TRUE TALES, FROM THE "UPTOWN" SIDE OF THE COTTON CURTAIN FOLKS!!!

AFTER LEAVING MARIES HOUSE WITH MY NEWLY GOTTEN NEWSPAPER & TALL TALE, I HEADED OVER TO THE BLACK DOLL SHOW AT THE RIVERSIDE CHURCH.

I MET UP WITH A LONG TIME MASTER DOLL MAKER LORNA PARIS, WHO HAD JUST SOLD THIS BEAUTIFUL ALL LEATHER DOLL SHE CREATED

HERE IS A CLOSER VIEW OF THIS ADORABLE CREATION.


I LOVED HOW LORNA HAD CREATED HER OWN BUSINESS CARD WITH HER CHARMING TOUCH.

CONTACT INFO FOR LORNA PARIS

THIS IS LORNA DISPLAYING HER DOLL TO ONE OF HARLEMS DYNAMIC CULTURAL DIVAS!! MAMA RAHSHEDAH.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE DOLL ARTIST WAS THERE WITH HER BEAUTIFUL FIGURINES, THANKS FOR THE TICKET TO THE SHOW.

EVERY WHERE I LOOKED, THE LITTLE ONES WERE LOOKING LIKE LIVING DOLLS.

I WAS TOO PROUD OF THE YOUNG SIS WITH THE CUPCAKE BUSINESS... SHE WAS PROUD ALSO..