In case you were wondering about your next good excuse to invest in a family membership to VMFA, wonder no more. Posing Beauty in African American Culture is the traveling exhibit at the internationally renowned art museum on the Boulevard we all should be exploring monthly – at least. And this summer, it’s your next logical reason to require your whole family to visit VMFA.
I treasure VMFA in general, and for a variety of reasons I appreciate photography exhibits in particular. After visiting Posing Beauty (and its symbiotic exhibit Identity Shifts) with my teen daughters, I was reminded why as we took in the eighty-five photos on display in the lower gallery.
Photography is real. Or rather, photography from this era – before the dawn of Photoshop – is real. 
The authenticity of this collection, organized by the department of photography and imaging at NYU and Tisch School of the Arts, and curated by Dr. Deborah Willis, is striking as you examine the ways in which African and African American beauty has been represented in historical and contemporary contexts over the decades. I think we could have spent an hour in front of the title collage, “Posing Beauty” by Hank Willis Thomas. This artful presentation of African American beauty contestants left my girls dumbfounded. Granted, they’re not exactly in tune with the pageant mentality (beyond an occasional mocking of Toddlers & Tiaras), so the idea of women stacked up and on display like this seemed like the stuff of ancient times. But to see all of these real women with real bodies (less-than-perky boobs, athletic thighs with no gaps between them) – all of these bodies that hadn’t been augmented or reduced surgically. That in itself was inspiring. 
Around every corner, photographs drawn from both public and private collections lead you through real moments in the lives of real people: graduation, prom, a mother and baby, a young girl having a piano lesson, a great hair day, and men and their car, to name a few. In a more contemporary exploration, we enjoyed images of a young man with slogans of peace, change, and hope shaved into his hair – much the same way Rinaldo’s hair is shaved in artistic expression during this World Cup.
There are images of famous people like First Lady Michelle Obama, the powerful and beautiful athlete Serena Williams, and one of Michael Jackson, before the image-altering surgeries.
In a gallery adjacent to Posing Beauty is Identity Shifts. Since VMFA was founded in 1936, the Museum has been committed to celebrating the works of African American artists. Identity Shifts is a collection of works by African American artists that use representations of the human figure or some aspect of the body (including a very poignant use of hair in Black Hair Flag by Sonya Clark) to explore how we construct and perceive personal and cultural identity. This collection of paintings and sculptures dates from the Harlem Renaissance to the present – many are on view at VMFA for the first time.
If you do go ahead and invest in that VFMA family membership for a mere $85, not only do you get free admission to world-class exhibits like this photography collection this summer, but you’re also privy to member preview events, special member events, discounts on classes, concerts, and dining, free parking, and more. In the meantime, tickets to Posing Beauty are $10 and can be purchased online. And this just in…the exhibit will be free on Thursdays through July 27 when the exhibition closes. VMFA is open on Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
