Gift of the artist.
The photograph, Guide, New Testament Baptist Church, Ypsilanti, Michigan, is part of One God, One Faith, One Baptism, a series created by Heagins portraying different events and religious ceremonies at African American churches, including church services, tent revivals, baptisms, and funerals. In this work, Heagins shows an usher at rest against a church door during a Christian religious service. According to the artist, ushers do more than help worshippers find a seat in a church. Heagins argues that ushers represent guides along a path of spiritual righteousness. As in other works by the artist, Heagins omits certain details in his composition. Heagins focuses on the gloved hands of the usher to communicate his ideas, cropping out of the frame the top part of the man’s body, including his face. According to Heagins, “his face…would have distracted” from the message in Guide.
Tags: NC art, NC artist, North Carolina
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