Coney Island (Two Young Men)

Anthony Barboza was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1944 and is known for his photojournalism, successful street and studio photography, and for his connection with his subjects. Shortly after high school, Barboza moved to New York City where he connected with the Kamoinge Workshop, a collective of Black photographers founded in 1963. "Kamoinge," in the language of the Kikuyu people of Kenya, means "a group of people acting together," which embodies the spirit of the group. Although Barboza has worked for many different media outlets, the Kamoinge collective is perhaps most central to his artistic identity. Through the Kamoinge group, of which he served as President from 2005 to 2016, Barboza connected with many other figures in the visual arts, jazz, and literature and remains a very important figure in photography today. These three vintage gelatin silver prints were taken in the 1970s on Coney Island.　They show Barboza’s poetic perspective through his representation of dynamic nightlife, the glee of amusement rides, and boardwalk fashion.