Charles “Teenie” Harris photographed a young Roger Humphries, at age 4, in black and white, sitting behind a miniature drum set with two drumsticks in his hands, playing in a classroom. Humphries was tagging along with his older brothers before he was of age to attend school and sat in on lessons.
In November, Humphries, 80, a celebrated jazz musician, will introduce the archive of the iconic photographer to the public at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland in a permanent gallery exhibition dedicated to the life and legacy of Harris.
It will feature never-before-seen images from Harris’ life, including color photographs, film negatives and recorded oral histories.
The Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive Gallery is the second gallery in a larger reinstallation initiative at the museum, examining artwork in relation to everyday life.
For Charlene Foggie-Barnett, the Charles “Teenie” Harris community archivist at the Carnegie Museum of Art, raising awareness of the archive has been a rewarding experience.
“Harris’ work is proof of African American culture, proof of what we really were, really are, where we’ve come from, and how we actually live,” said Foggie-Barnett. “I appreciate challenging and refuting the negative stereotypes that plague the Black community through Harris’ lens.”
While life has changed for the Black community, Foggie-Barnett said Harris’ work depicts a through line of foundational elements of Black life: family, joy despite circumstances, and love.
“It is the museum’s responsibility to bring this collection to the forefront. It is an honor and a privilege that the Carnegie Museum of Art gets to steward this incredible collection of over 80,000 images that span Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris’ life and his life’s work,” said Dana Bishop-Root, director of education and public programs at the museum.
The majority of the gallery’s content will be film negatives, which Bishop-Root said is made possible by the years of work by Foggie-Barnett and other archivists. The museum wanted to make the archive as accessible as possible.
The gallery’s opening celebration will be held on Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. It will kick off with a free Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive Concert and Celebration featuring Roger Humphries and the RH Factor. Guests will enjoy an afternoon of jazz and refreshments before being invited to the gallery to experience Harris’ work.
Bishop-Root said the choice of Humphries to anchor the event was intentional.
“There is this beautiful photo of him in front of a drum set as a young boy. There are these intersections of culture using art and everyday life, creating spaces where people can thrive, be inspired and find joy,” she said.
“For me to be in the picture that he had, for my picture to be on the wall of this gallery … it means so much for me,” Humphries said. “To get the call to do the program for Teenie Harris it is really beautiful.”
One of the songs that Humphries will play at the opening ceremony is “Blues March.”
“I do remember this song by Art Blakey — he was like a godfather when I was coming up, ya dig it? It’s one of the tunes he would play, and I know Teenie Harris would remember it,” Humphries said. “We know that Teenie Harris knew all about that.”
Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from individuals depicted in Harris’ images and those inspired by his work.
One of the main goals of the installation was to showcase the various elements of the archive, photo, film and audio while also depicting the relationships between images, which the curators refer to as “constellations,” said Bishop-Root. They aim to show Harris in his multifaceted roles as a father, husband, music lover, involved community member, athlete and photojournalist.
The curators also created a non-linear timeline. Bishop-Root said that during curatorial meetings, they considered starting with 1619 but ultimately chose to approach the timeline in a relationship-based way. At the center of the exhibit is a color photograph of Harris in the later part of his life, with the surrounding display built out to reflect different social, geographical and political histories.
“The idea is that you can look at two images in relationship to each other and understand our history in different ways through those images,” Bishop-Root said.
Featured Local Businesses
This exhibition sets the stage for an upcoming show in 2025, which will focus on Black photojournalism in mid-century America and recognize Harris’ place in that lineage. The exhibition will showcase Harris as a colleague of photographers across the country who were creating pictorial essays of varied neighborhoods, contributing to the essential work of telling Black stories.
“Some of his most prolific images are views of landscapes, flowing water, lines of automobiles or children playing. Harris wasn’t just capturing the challenges faced by Black community members but also the triumphs and successes, such as the Freedom House Paramedics and images of Black joy,” said Foggie-Barnett.
Foggie-Barnett’s connection to the archive is deeply personal, having known Harris as a family friend. Yet, her approach to the work remains analytical and academic.
“One of my favorite discoveries was a photo of a swimming pool with two fences surrounding it. The inner fence had cars around it, but the outer fence was closer to where Harris was photographing,” she said.
At first, she wondered why he didn’t place the camera closer to the inner fence. “Then I realized this was our local amusement park’s segregated pool, and perhaps Harris was making a silent commentary that he wasn’t welcome inside,” she said.
Foggie-Barnett’s mother is also photographed in her teenage years at the Hill District YMCA gymnasium. “I showed the photo to my older brother, and he said, ‘It must have been Thursday: girls’ day.’ I had never heard of that before, but my brother and older cousins have been my greatest resource for image clarification,” she said.
“We’re in a time when some people in the photographs are still alive and we are surrounded by their legacies. It’s an incredible gift,” Bishop-Root said.
Harris’ work serves as visual documentation of history and provides a primary source for understanding the present, according to Bishop-Root.
“Conversations about what’s happening in the Hill District are still ongoing, but we have access to that history visually. No one can change that story because we can see it with our own eyes,” she said.
The conversation will continue outside the gallery walls. The museum will start a series of afternoon gatherings beginning in December. The first will center on Harris’ depictions of winter in Pittsburgh. In January there will be a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. through Harris’ photographs.
“It’s a way we can understand how to look at history, while envisioning possibilities for better ways of being together in the future,” Bishop-Root said.
The collection is digitized and available online, so it can serve as a resource for educators, community activists and anyone who needs it. The gallery space is open for all guests to sit, converse, meditate and reflect.
“Young people are drawn to the photos because they’re willing to look beyond the obvious and delve into how the images make them feel. That gives me hope that respect for the collection will live on in future generations,” said Foggie-Barnett.