“it’s a big-hearted book.”
- bill shapiro, former editor-in-chief, LIFE magazine
After 13 years in the making, Nashvillle native and award-winning documentary photographer Ken West and his Atlanta-based studio are releasing his latest project, a book of photographs entitled The Beauty of Everyday Thangs, a first of its kind photo collection inspired by the art of mindfulness as a testament to black humanity. And while the majority of the images are of folk in the midst of what West terms “revolutionary normalcy”, the book also features candid moments with cultural icons like legendary lyricists and activists Clifford “T.I.” Harris, stic of dead prez, British actor and musician Tricky, groundbreaking filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, and others. The images within its nearly 250 pages have been captured throughout the cities of Havana, Nashville, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit using West’s collection of film cameras (some as many as 60+ years old).
“In these days and times a part of staying sane and well adjusted involves appreciating every moment, especially the simple things”, West says. “Our world is simultaneously incredibly complex and perilously brittle. That creates a tentativeness in our lives that we are frequently afraid to acknowledge and engage. I believe that’s a mistake because when we fail to appreciate life as it is, we numb ourselves into a state of mind that puts us at odds with empathy, with grace, and with engaged compassion, and those are things that the world needs right now more than ever.”
At the core of the creative thrust behind West’s book is the ancient philosophy of Wabi Sabi, the belief that there is perfection to be found in imperfection. This synthesis of ancient thinking in conversation with a diverse array of contemporary black life make this book a unique point of reference, not just about our current world, but also the assumed future ahead of us all.
“This book celebrates the hard, the beautiful, and the brilliant in us; it is a love letter to black people.”
— Jonell Logan, Independent Curator & Executive Director, League of Creative Interventionists
“This collection captures the beauty of black humanity, which is as unacknowledged as it is undeniable.”
— Steve Stoute’s Translation
“The Beauty of Everyday Thangs is, at once, emotional, revelatory and sanguine. Rest assured, I will use a host of these images in my film classes.”
— Booker T. Mattison, filmmaker, author, professor
About ken west
Ken West was born in the historic Bordeaux neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee. From an early age he was fascinated by the world of storytelling that surrounded him. Weekly haircuts in Oprah Winfrey’s father’s barbershop and frequent trips to his grandparents farm first exposed him to the richness of African-American life and culture and inspires the irony layered within many of his documentary images. Years spent in the People’s Republic of Brooklyn (Bed Stuy to be precise) expanded his view of the world in ways his upbringing in the American South never could have.
His images have been used in national advertising campaigns for Fortune 50 brands and are held in several private and public collections. Ken has exhibited internationally including the Mint Museum, Gallery 72, and Eidelweiss Gallery in Berlin, and Atlanta’s Mayor’s Gallery at City Hall.
Ken has studied at the University of Paris, 7 and holds graduate degrees from The Ohio State University and New York University.
