The sound I saw

Conceived, designed, written, and made by hand as a prototype by master photographer Roy DeCarava (b. 1919) in the early 1960s yet unpublished for nearly half a century, The sound I saw has largely existed, until now, as a legend among the cognoscenti of the photography world. Presented as a stream of 196 soulful images interspersed with DeCarava's own evocative poetry, the book is, in its form and effect, the printed equivalent of jazz. "This is a book about people, about jazz, and about things. The work between its covers tries to present images for the head and for the heart, and like its subject matter is particular, subjective and individual," writes the author. DeCarava is a life-long New Yorker who from his immediate world creates images that transcend the specific to depict universal themes of joy, anticipation, pain, and survival. Largely unpublished, he was first recognized for his images of daily life in Harlem (the subject of The sweet flypaper of life, his 1955 collaboration with Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes) and portraits of musicians like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday. It is these two themes-Harlem and jazz-interwoven and inseparable, that are the ostensible subject of the book. However, the seemingly casual yet deeply felt compositions and the deep, rich tones of DeCarava's photographs stir emotions that resonate far beyond one neighborhood and one era.

Roy DeCarava dedicates his life to making images. His belief in the ability of art to transcend the politics of time, place, and personality has guided him throughout his 50-year career. In 1955 DeCarava's work was included in Edward Steichen's groundbreaking exhibition "The Family of Man" at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Also in 1955, his now classic The sweet flypaper of life was published with text by poet Langston Hughes. In addition to a 1983 monograph, his work was the subject of a major exhibition in 1996 at the Museum of Modern Art entitled "Roy DeCarava : A Retrospective," accompanied by a publication of the same name. His work has been the focus of shows in cities around the world, including Houston, Paris, Stockholm, London, and Berlin. In 1975 DeCarava began teaching photography at Hunter College, where he is currently Distinguished Professor of the City University of New York.

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