James “Coco” Thompson, Durham, NC (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- Titus Brooks Heagins is a North Carolina photographer who specializes in fine art documentary photography. His photographs capture real-life moments to tell a truthful story.
- In this photograph Heagins shows how a community comes together to remember and honor someone who has died. He uses the contrast between light and dark to represent life, death, and the emotions connected to loss.
- By leaving out the coffin and people’s faces, Heagins invites viewers to focus on movement, posture, and feelings rather than specific details.
Learn More
In this documentary-style photograph by North Carolina artist Titus Brooks Heagins, mourners gather under a canopy at the burial of James “Coco” Thompson in Durham. Documentary photography captures real moments from everyday life. At the same time, the artist uses careful choices in framing and composition to share feelings and meaning.
I am a fine art documentary photographer. My artistic intent is to confront viewers in their personal spaces to move the position of “Otherness” closer to their normative construction of self. My photography continues to evolve as it interrogates the spaces of race, gender, sexual orientation, ageism, class, and religion.
Titus Brooks Heagins
Heagins uses strong black-and-white contrast to suggest life and death. The women in the photo lean forward toward the burial site. Their body language shows the weight of grief and memory. Heagins leaves out some details on purpose. He does not show the coffin or the mourners’ faces. Instead he focuses instead on posture, perspective, and contrast. These choices help capture the emotion of the moment.
James “Coco” Thompson, Durham, NC is part of Heagins’s 20-year photography project, “One God, One Faith, One Baptism.” This series shows important moments in African American church life. The photos include scenes of Sunday services, tent revivals, baptisms, and funerals.
During his career Heagins has photographed people throughout North Carolina and the southwestern United States. He has also worked in Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, the Caribbean, and China, creating a wide range of photographs. He currently lives and works in Durham.
Tags: NC art, NC artist, North Carolina
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- View images from Heagins’s series, “One God, One Faith, One Baptism.”
- Watch an interview with Heagins to hear his insights on being a professional photographer.
- Read an article about documentary photography.
Resources for Students
- Watch a video to hear Heagins describe his artistic process and the story behind his photograph.
- View another photograph by Heagins at the NCMA.
- Visit the artist’s website to explore his body of work.
Images
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James “Coco” Thompson, Durham, NC