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Galloway, N.J. – Few people can say they’ve shared the stage with a photographer whose work inspired their own path to a coveted Guggenheim Fellowship.

Ron Tarver, a Philadelphia-based photographer, can say it without hesitation.

On Sept. 24, Tarver told the audience how his first encounter with Donald E. Camp – the second African American ever awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in photography – left him “awestruck.”

“I have always been in awe of your work. Not many photojournalists come out of that field and go on and do artistic work,” Tarver, who was a photojournalist for over 30 years, said of Camp. “I just felt honored being in the room with him, but over time, we became friends, and, over some more time, I realized he was just as goofy as I am.”

Camp beamed at the memory and returned Tarver’s praise, saying, “I remember having the honor of being invited to look at a project of yours, and we spent a couple of hours going over what you want to propose. I remember thinking, ‘I hope he gets it (the fellowship).’”

The panel discussion, held at the , featured Tarver and Camp, along with their fellow Guggenheim recipients, William E. Williams and Wendel A. White.

All four artists’ works will be on display in the two-floor exhibition, “Diverse Perspectives in Photography: Four Black Guggenheim Fellows in the Philadelphia Region,” at the gallery until Nov. 8. 

During the discussion, the photographers talked about their proposals and application process for the fellowship, how they view each other’s work as artists in the same medium, the role of time in their art and more. 

The photographers share more than a medium and common themes in their work – all four artists are photography professors at different colleges and universities. Each acknowledged the impact academia had on their work and careers.

White, a distinguished professor of Art at Stockton, explained that his family was mainly comprised of educators and mentors, making his move into higher education a natural one.

“I was surrounded by this idea of education,” White said. “Everyone that I grew up around had a role in the community – helping, leading, mentoring and teaching people. In fact, when I started out with my interest in photography, the question was always, ‘How will you become an educator?’ It was built into my life.”

Camp, who is professor emeritus at Ursinus College, shared that one of his favorite moments in a class was when he saw “the lightbulb shine.”

“What I loved about teaching was when the students were self-critiquing. They stood up for the first time, and they kind of doubted that they had anything to say, but as they began to talk about their work and understand what they did, you could see the wheels turning and their backs straightening up,” Camp said. 

Tarver serves as an associate professor and interim chair for Swarthmore College’s art program, where he enjoys the opportunity to expose students to a foundational tool of photography: the 4x5 camera.

“It's like a rock: it's huge, cumbersome and complicated. I start with that because that's what I used when I first started,” Tarver said. “It’s so much better for a photographer to learn through this process, because they start out with the hardest thing before working with the easiest thing, digital, and it makes them better photographers.”

For Williams, who is the Audrey A. and John L. Dusseau professor in the Humanities, professor of Fine Arts and curator of Photography at Haverford College, becoming a professor wasn’t on his radar until after he received his Master of Fine Arts. He described the students he taught as eager to learn, which made him eager to teach.

“Every four years you get a new group of them, so they stay the same age, but you get older – it’s been a fantastic symbiotic relationship,” Williams said, receiving chuckles from the audience. “With that, I think if you can combine doing something that you love with a supportive environment, then that's about as good as it will ever get.”

– Story by Loukaia Taylor

– Photos by Mark Melhorn  

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