Jules T. Allen

Jules Allen (born September 13, 1947) is a photographer[1] and a tenured professor in the Art & Photography Department of Queensboro Community College, City University of New York, where he has taught for two decades. He was born in San Francisco, California.

Jules Allen
Born
Jules T. Allen

(1947-09-13) September 13, 1947
San Francisco, California
NationalityAmerican
EducationMFA, Photography, MS Counseling Psychology, BA, Fine Art
Known forPhotography
WebsiteOfficial website

He shares the belief of photographer Diane Arbus, who states, “the more specific a thing is, the more general.” The artist, Danny Dawson has said, "Allen has a “keen eye for the obvious” in his lifelong work evocative of the contemporary black experience.[2] His images place subjects drawn from the richness of black life within universal paradigms. They have inspired collaborations with journalists, visual artists, musicians, playwrights, poets, and filmmakers.

Allen also used his photographs to promote segregation and the idea that blacks and whites were truly equal. Allen comments on his collection depicting boxers in Gleason Gym by saying, “Whatever racism existed, it did not seem to have much effect on the fighters in the room. It was a question of character. It was a place where people seemed to be more equal”.[3] Allen used the boxing ring and the sport itself to display the equality between blacks and whites as they were literally on even ground and the only difference between the two was the character of each fighter. It wasn’t a question of who was what race and who had more privilege, it was about the heart and drive of each of the fighters in the ring.


Allen's books include Hats and HatNots, Black Bodies and 2011 publication on boxing life in New York City's Gleason's Gym, Double Up: Photographs by Jules Allen, and the 2013 publication of "In Your Own Sweet Way," a personal and intimate collection of photographic conversations across the continent of Africa. Exhibited in the U.S. and abroad, as shown in the Permanent Museum Collections & Exhibition listing below, he is the recipient of grants and awards.[4] His photographs are housed in museum collections worldwide.[5] His commercial and corporate work has been seen on covers of national publications such as Business Week, Forbes and Black Enterprise magazines as well as within the Annual Reports of corporate boards and clients within the music industry.[6]

Marching Bands

Allen's most prominent project, The Black Marching Band, depicts the Morgan State University marching band.[7] In this project, Allen uses the marching band to challenge the preconceived ideas of marching bands at the time. Allen also believed the Morgan State band specifically was providing a much more original, almost tribal African American sound. He says, “What I call now the pulse and beat of what they were doing. It all seemed so particular to an African-American sensibility".[8] Allen believed that the marching band gave a very expressive and musical way to express unity and cooperation within the African American community.

Works
  • Marching Bands 2006
  • Marching Bands 2006
  • Marching Bands 2006
  • Africa Series 2005
  • Africa Series 2005
  • Rhythmology Series 2007
  • Rhythmology Series 2008

Permanent collections

Exhibitions
  • A Little More Towards the Light, Solo Exhibition, Shadow Image Gallery, New York, NY, 1989
  • Photography and the Culture Climate, Solo Exhibition, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1989
  • Black USA, Group Exhibition, Overhollander Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1990
  • The Knife, Group Exhibition, Agnes B. Gallery, Paris France, 1990
  • Contemporary Urban Images, Group Exhibition Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, 1990
  • Mean Streets, Group Exhibition Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1991
  • On the Edge, Group Exhibition, Henry Street Settlement House, New York, NY, 1991
  • Two Photographers, Group Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland, 1991
  • Home, Group Exhibition, De Meervaart Cultural Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1991
  • Fighting Spirit, Solo Exhibition, Delta Axis Arts Center, Memphis, TN, 1992
  • Songs of My People, Group Exhibition, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C., Museum of the City of New York, NY, 1992
  • Public Photographs, Solo Exhibition, 60 Bus Shelters Throughout Harlem], NY, Public Art Fund, New York, NY, 1992
  • Hats and Hat Nots, Solo Exhibition, QCC Art Gallery, CUNY, Bayside, Queens, NY, 1993
  • In the Ring, Solo Exhibition, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY, 1993
  • Our Town, Group Exhibition, Burden Gallery, New York, NY, 1993
  • Gesture and Pose, Group Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1994
  • Hats and Hat Nots, Solo Exhibition, Drew University, New Jersey, 1995
  • Million Man March, Group Exhibition, Del Pryor Galleries, Detroit, MI, 1997
  • Domestic Abuse Awareness Project, Group Exhibition & Auction, Kent Gallery, New York, NY, 1997
  • Icon to Narrative: Harlem, Group Exhibition, IRADAC Center, New York, NY, 1998
  • Living for the City, Group Traveling Exhibition, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, 1997
  • Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, Group Exhibition, and Museum of the City of New York, NY, 1999
  • Black New Yorkers/ Black New York, Group Exhibition, Schomburg Center, New York, NY, 1999
  • Harlem, Group Exhibition, Leica Gallery, New York, NY, 2000
  • Committed to the Image, Group Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, NY, 2001
  • Life of the City, Group Exhibition, Permanent Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2002
  • Americanos, Group Exhibition, Smithsonian Institution, shown in 26 cities; Washington DC, New York, Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, Omaha, St. Petersburg, Tucson, Milwaukee, Boston, Charlotte, 2002
  • African American Masters, American Museum of Natural History, Traveling Exhibition, 2004
  • Imagines Havana, Group Exhibition of Latin, Caribbean and U.S. photographers, Santiago/ Havana, Cuba, co-sponsored by Fototeca, Royal Nederland's Embassy and The Washington Post, 2004
  • Photographs: Jules Allen, Solo Exhibition, Institute of African Affairs, NY University, New York, NY, 2006
  • Marching Bands Exhibit, Solo Exhibition, The Jazz Gallery, New York, NY, 2006
  • Propositions on the Permanent Collection, Group Exhibition, Studio Museum of Harlem, New York, NY, 2009
  • Leica Gallery, "Double Up" Solo Exhibition, New York, NY, November 16, 2012 through January 5, 2013

Awards & Presentations
  • Award, CAPS, Photography, New York, NY, 1980
  • Photography Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY, 1985
  • Fine Arts Panelist, Massachusetts Council on the Arts, Boston, MA, 1986
  • Judge, Photography Panel, New York Foundation for the Arts, NY, 1986
  • Grant, Light Work, Syracuse, NY, 1986
  • Panelist, Society for Photographic Education, Santa Fe, NM, 1990
  • Photography Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts, 1991
  • Award, New York Council of the Arts, & Public Art Fund Presentation; “60 Bus Stop Shelters,” City College of New York, NY, 1992
  • Research & Photography Grant Funding, City University of New York, NY, New York Foundation for the Arts, NY, 1994–99; 2001
  • Imagines Havana, Documentary Photography Panel, Seminar for Latin, Caribbean and US photographers; co-sponsored by The Washington Post and Fototeca, 2003
  • Research & Photography Grant Funding, CETL Grants & Awards City University of New York, NY, 2003
  • Research & Photography Grant Funding, CETL Grants & Awards City University of New York, NY, 2004–2009
  • Lecture, Hatch Billups Artist & Influence, New York, NY, 2009
  • Portfolio, "Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Fall/Winter 2010"
  • SOHO Photo Gallery, PhotoGroup Salon, Group Lecture, New York, NY, January 18, 2012
  • Southeast Queens Camera Club, Jamaica, NY, Lecture April 17, 2012
  • International Center of Photography, New York Street Stories, Lecture/Seminar, New York, NY, May 11, 2012
  • Excellence in Faculty Scholarship Award, Queensborough Community College, April 20, 2012
  • QCC Presidential Lecture: Jules T. Allen: Conjure, Light, Forward Momentum BaysidePatch.com, April 2, 2013

References
  1. The Black photographers annual. 1980. pp. 88–.
  2. "Jules T. Allen". Prezi. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  3. https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=News&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&hitCount=1&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CA269807704&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA269807704&searchId=R1&userGroupName=iuclassb&inPS=true
  4. "Past Fellows". New York Foundation for the Arts. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  5. "Studio Museum in Harlem–Just the Right Size". Shelly's Retirement Adventure. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  6. "Jules T. Allen". October Gallery. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  7. https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/02/16/the-thrill-of-the-black-marching-band/
  8. https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/02/16/the-thrill-of-the-black-marching-band/
  9. http://ink.nbmaa.org/objects/5425/parade-of-soldiers-from-the-hats-and-hat-nots-series?ctx=7fe35b723724e07b24e2b12de1588f25cc17c003&idx=55
  10. https://americanart.si.edu/artist/jules-allen-6325
  11. https://www.moma.org/artists/6995?locale=en
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