Last week, as part of a lecture series celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Myles Loftin, a young photographer, visited campus to talk about his work and the issues of race and gender that it confronts. Loftin, 19, is originally from the D.C. area and has drawn a lot of inspiration from artists around his hometown. He is currently studying at Parsons School of Design in New York. His projects have routinely been featured in several art magazines. HOODED, one of his more recent projects, garnered media attention from popular news sites like Vice and Buzzfeed. The multimedia project pairs a video with a series of photographs of young black men in bright hoodies in order to portray black men in a positive and joyful light — a stark contrast and response to the negative portrayal of black men that usually appears in the media. With his work, Loftin often looks to unveil issues central to the lives of black Americans and people of color. He has also worked to dispel stereotypes of gender conformity and gender roles through his photography. I talked to Loftin about the inspiration for his work and the impact he hopes to have in the worlds of art and media.
September 15, 2017
