At First Glance

Starting October 14, Blanc Gallery will present the third installment of Patric McCoy’s seminal collection of Black male vernacular photography, “At First Glance.” Curated by Viktor L. Ewing-Givens, this collection of largely black-and-white images provides a photojournalistic glimpse into both the personal and the political landscape of Chicago’s not-so-distant past.

Set against the backdrop of the early 1980s, when Harold Washington served as the city’s mayor and the country was coming to grips with the AIDS epidemic, “At First Glance” introduces us to a cast of characters, including street hustlers, businessmen, and lone wanderers asleep on park benches. Despite their differences on the surface, they are united by how they individually navigate the beautiful complexities of being a Black man in America.

Equipped with a 35mm camera and a mission to photograph any-body who asked, McCoy captured a wide variety of Chicagoans on his frequent bike rides between the city’s South Side and downtown. The profundity and power of the resulting images don’t come from intentional attempts at political strategy or grand gestures of centralizing systemic oppression. Instead, their potency comes from their authentic simplicity and candor as they delicately explore the liminal space between erotic and mundane.