Project Research Update: Echoes of Tradition
A call from the past—revisiting, reclaiming, and restructuring. - Montreal 2024
Immersion, Research, and the Story Behind the Images
The first time I stepped into House the Gap, I wasn’t just there to document the event—I was there to research and capture Tony Humphries, a house music legend. I grew up hearing stories about Club Zanzibar in Newark, NJ, a historic venue that shaped house music’s evolution. DJs like Humphries pushed the genre forward, how gospel influences permeated the sound, and how club culture became a space for community and freedom.
This was more than taking photos. I spent time talking to people, understanding their experiences, and listening to the ways house music shaped their lives. That process of immersion and research is directly informing Echoes of Tradition, my ongoing visual exploration of the African Diaspora’s cultural expressions through music and dance.
Field Research: Learning Before the Lens
Before House the Gap, I explored the roots of house music—how gospel music’s call-and-response structure shaped the genre, and how DJs sampled sermons and choir vocals to create something new. I spent some time embedding myself in the environment, listening to people’s stories, understanding what house music means to them, and how it connects to the traditions I'm exploring in Echoes of Tradition. This will allows me to capture not just moments, but the deeper cultural significance behind them. Zora Neale Hurston’s anthropological approach, where she lived among her subjects, resonates deeply. Observing before photographing allows me to recognize the nuances of a tradition that will hopefully show up in the end result.
Archival Threads: Connecting Past and Present
House music is an archive in itself—built on samples from gospel, disco, and funk. Similarly, photography interacts with history. Understanding past images, news clippings, and oral histories informs how I approach a subject today.
Researching past images of Black cultural celebrations helps me find visual parallels between historical and contemporary traditions. Looking at how the movement was captured in the past informs how I document it today. These references refine my approach and ensure that Echoes of Tradition reflects not just the present moment, but a broader historical continuum.
The McIntosh County Shouters at Washington Square Church
Dancer at House of Gap - Newark, NJ 2024
Editing as an Act of Interpretation
The editing process—what stays, what’s removed, how images are sequenced—shapes the story. DJs curate their mixes, blending samples and loops to create seamless narratives, while photographers build meaning through editing.
Milton Rogovin sequenced images to create a sense of continuity in his Storefront Churches series. For House the Gap, I leaned into editing choices that emphasized movement—contrasting blurred motion with sharp, frozen gestures to capture the pulse of the night.
As I move forward with Echoes of Tradition, I think about the role research plays in ensuring cultural stories don’t fade. Whether through studying archival imagery, embedding myself in communities, or shaping meaning in the edit, research is the foundation of this work. At House the Gap, I was witnessing, learning, and preserving a story in real time. That same approach will guide me through the next phases of this project.
