Jerry Taliaferro is a West Point graduate who turned to photography full-time after leaving the military in 1988 following a decorated career in the service as a Special Forcers Officer. Over the intervening years, he has met with considerable success at his true calling, though devoting most of his attention to commercial assignments.

Recently, however, after preparing a single portrait of an African-American female originally intended simply to serve as a sample in his portfolio, Jerry was struck by the fact that “Very little attention had been paid to the beauty of the black woman. The black woman was almost invisible.” So, he came up with the novel idea of portraying sisters in a glamorous style from the Forties reminiscent of the classic, black and white fashion shoots of such classic Hollywood actresses as Greta Garbo and Katherine Hepburn.

The upshot of his efforts is an enchanting, emotionally-engaging and spiritually-stimulating masterpiece entitled Women of a New Tribe: A Photographic Celebration of the Black Woman. Taliaferro proves himself to be quite a gifted artist behind the camera with this eclectic collection of over 100 photos. For the images contained on the pages of this oversized, coffee table book achieve far more than merely capturing each model’s physical beauty. No, the pictures also magically reveal an intimate aspect of the subjects’ souls as well. It is noteworthy that this groundbreaking tome features a rainbow of African-American females in terms of color, shape, size and age, and not just ones who meet a shallow Eurocentric standard of beauty. “What about the jet black goddess with skin like glass, the caramel toned Amazon or the Great-Grandmother whose beauty defies time?” the author asks in the Introduction. “This book is an attempt to see them too.”

Indeed, a timely and overdue homage which wonderfully elevates and illustrates both the inner and outer beauty of all sisters, a segment of society generally taken for granted, if not denigrated by the mainstream culture.

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Where can I find the book?" has been a constant request since the WOMEN OF A NEW TRIBE exhibition premiered in Charlotte NC in June 2002. This exhibition which has been called a "stunning" and "spectacular" collection of black and white photography is the source of a book that is destined to become a collector's item. This book is more than a homage to the physical and spiritual beauty of the black woman it is an experience. An experience in seeing in a new way and in a new light. Blue Greenberg of the Durham Herald-Sun wrote, "Taliaferro turns our ideas of stereotypical beauty upside down...". Rarely has the black woman been portrayed in such a manner, WOMEN OF A NEW TRIBE presents its subjects in way normally reserved for the great icons of feminine beauty like Garbo and Crawford.

Through the use of large format black and white photography and a style that harkens back to the great glamour photography of 1930's and 1940's Hollywood the beauty of black women is lain bare. The meticulously "built" images echoes the works of such photographers as George Hurrell, Sinclair Bull and Laszlo Wilinger. If the book I DREAM A WORLD celebrated black women who changed America then WOMEN OF A NEW TRIBE honors the black women we see around us everyday. It is a magnificent tribute to our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and friends.

—Publisher

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Jerry Taliaferro was born in the small southern town of Brownsville, Tennessee. After graduating high school in May 1972, he joined the Army. Almost a year later he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated four years later as a member of the Class of 1977. His real interest in photography began when he was posted to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for the Special Forces Officers Course in 1981. While serving in Germany, his interest photography continued to grow and in 1985 he was published for the first time when a Munich magazine purchased the rights to one of his images. After returning to the United States in the Summer of 1985, Jerry began doing assignments for advertising and design firms. In July 1988, he left the military and began his pursuit of a career in commercial photography. Over the ensuing years, his interest turned more to fine art photography. This change in direction has resulted in several projects and published pieces. His one-man exhibition Women Of A New Tribe premiered at the Afro-American Cultural Center in Charlotte NC on 14 June 2002 and is now a traveling exhibit. http://www.blackartphotoart.com/

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posted by 27 August 2007