Aperture, Issue 259 – Liberated Threads Stories of Black Style

Aperture magazine was founded in 1952 by a small circle of photographers–Ansel Adams, Minor White, Barbara Morgan and Dorothea Lange–and the photography historians Beaumont and Nancy Newhall. These individuals wished to foster the development and appreciation of the photographic medium, as well as communicate with “serious photographers and creative people everywhere, whether professional, amateur, or student.” Today the magazine maintains the founders’ spirit, presenting a diversity of historical work, photojournalism and portfolios by emerging photographers, thematic articles, as well as interviews with important figures at work today.

Aperture has published the work of many iconic and emerging artists including Diane Arbus, Walead Beshty, Shannon Ebner, JH Engström, William Eggleston, Nan Goldin, Paul Graham, Josef Koudelka, Sally Mann, Richard Misrach, Stephen Shore, Sara VanDerBeek and James Welling. The magazine has also showcased leading writers and curators in the field including Vince Aletti, John Berger, Geoffrey Batchen, David Campany, Charlotte Cotton, Geoff Dyer, Mary Panzer, Luc Sante, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, David Levi Strauss, among many others.

In this issue:

Guest edited by Tanisha C. Ford, Liberated Threads explores style and fashion as a language of Black resistance, refusal, and joy. This issue features image-makers who remix and reimagine twentieth-century “soul style,” creating a contemporary dialogue between photographers, filmmakers, and stylists from around the world.

Exploring fashion and style as a political language and tool of resistance in the African diaspora.

Aperture’s Summer issue highlights image makers around the world who are exploring style and fashion as a language of Black resistance, refusal, and joy. Guest edited by the writer and researcher Tanisha C. Ford and titled after her 2015 book, Liberated Threads, this edition features photographers, stylists, and filmmakers who remix, reimagine, and in some cases, reject the aesthetic and politics of what she calls the “soul style” of the twentieth century—sparking a bold conversation about style’s ability to create possibilities for solidarity and selfhood today.