As part of its ongoing commitment to showcase the fine art of photography and promote the work of photojournalists worldwide, a21 partnered with The Half King. Previously on display was the work of Tobin Russell documenting the Federation of Black Cowboys during their second annual rodeo held last year in Brooklyn. Tobin Russell ("pen name" for Tobin Russell Brogunier) lives and works from his home in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. He is a regular contributor to The Fader Magazine and has also been published in The Village Voice, TimeOUT New York, The Economics of Neuroscience and numerous other journals. He works as both studio and documentary photographer for the non-profits Love Heals: The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education, The Parks Council and the Prospect Park Alliance. On assignment and independently, Russell photographs uniquely New York and American phenomenon. His early life in Bangor, Maine informs his belief in the extraordinary possibilities of daily life and the people who inhabit it. Images from his three major projects of 2001, The Black Cowboys of Brooklyn, 9/17: Wall Street Goes Back to Work, and The Great Maine Lumberjack Show, are currently online at www.tobinrussell.com. The Federation of Black Cowboys operates stables and riding grounds in Brooklyn. Their strip of green, Cedar Lane Stable, is nestled in a lowland to the west of South Conduit Avenue and suburban housing, in the shadow of concrete slab high rises. The Black Cowboys can also be found in Prospect Park where some of them board their horses. They have been known to tie their horses up in front of bars in Park Slope while they wet their whistles. (It’s hard to imagine even the most bureaucratic law-enforcement official ticketing such glorious rebellion.) This posse of Brooklyn cowboys doesn’t herd cattle to market, or work miles of trail. They work in Manhattan offices; they make enough money to board a horse in New York; they drive SUVs for their primary transportation. These modern cowboys train for and conduct rodeos in the memory of the 19th-century Old West where an estimated 25% of the cowboys happened to be black. The Federation of Black Cowboys and brother organizations all over the country (the most active being in Texas) ride to remind us that for even the whitest of myths – the American cowboy – there is a black equivalent and a shared history. The Federation is a living reminder. More information is available about the Black Cowboys at these websites: www.federationofblackcowboys.com and www.blackcowboys.com. A recent publication edited by Sara R. Massey is Black Cowboys of Texas. The Black Cowboys of Brooklyn by Tobin Russell was on display through April 7, 2002.
Tobin Russell ("pen name" for Tobin Russell Brogunier) lives and works from his home in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. He is a regular contributor to The Fader Magazine and has also been published in The Village Voice, TimeOUT New York, The Economics of Neuroscience and numerous other journals. He works as both studio and documentary photographer for the non-profits Love Heals: The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education, The Parks Council and the Prospect Park Alliance. On assignment and independently, Russell photographs uniquely New York and American phenomenon. His early life in Bangor, Maine informs his belief in the extraordinary possibilities of daily life and the people who inhabit it. Images from his three major projects of 2001, The Black Cowboys of Brooklyn, 9/17: Wall Street Goes Back to Work, and The Great Maine Lumberjack Show, are currently online at www.tobinrussell.com.
The Federation of Black Cowboys operates stables and riding grounds in Brooklyn. Their strip of green, Cedar Lane Stable, is nestled in a lowland to the west of South Conduit Avenue and suburban housing, in the shadow of concrete slab high rises. The Black Cowboys can also be found in Prospect Park where some of them board their horses. They have been known to tie their horses up in front of bars in Park Slope while they wet their whistles. (It’s hard to imagine even the most bureaucratic law-enforcement official ticketing such glorious rebellion.) This posse of Brooklyn cowboys doesn’t herd cattle to market, or work miles of trail. They work in Manhattan offices; they make enough money to board a horse in New York; they drive SUVs for their primary transportation. These modern cowboys train for and conduct rodeos in the memory of the 19th-century Old West where an estimated 25% of the cowboys happened to be black. The Federation of Black Cowboys and brother organizations all over the country (the most active being in Texas) ride to remind us that for even the whitest of myths – the American cowboy – there is a black equivalent and a shared history. The Federation is a living reminder. More information is available about the Black Cowboys at these websites: www.federationofblackcowboys.com and www.blackcowboys.com. A recent publication edited by Sara R. Massey is Black Cowboys of Texas.
The Black Cowboys of Brooklyn by Tobin Russell was on display through April 7, 2002.
ALLEGIANCE BY STEVE SIMON ABOVE AND BELOW THE PAVEMENT BY SERGE J-F LEVY SOHO BLUES BY ALLAN TANNENBAUM THE FEDERATION OF BLACK COWBOYS BY TOBIN RUSSELL AFGHANISTAN 2001 BY TEUN VOETEN FAMILY, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS BY OISTIN MAC BRIDE THE EGYPT PROJECT BY DAVID KATZENSTEIN MYANMAR BY JOEL RUBIN INDIA AND THE MAHA KUMBH MELA BY MIKE TAUBER AFGHANISTAN BY REZA DEGHATI For further information on these exhibits, please contact exhibits@thehalfking.com.
The exhibit was part of an ongoing series sponsored by a21 in their commitment to preserve, support and guarantee the continuation of the craft and fine art of photography. For additional information, please contact a21 at: www.a21group.com
