Willie Robert Middlebrook, Jr. (August 11, 1957 in Detroit, MI – May 5, 2012 in Los Angeles, CA) was an American photographer, artist and strong advocate for the African-American community in Los Angeles. He received many honors during his lifetime, including two Visual Artist Fellowships in photography from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, and many commissions for public works including the

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. His work has been collected by major museums including the

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, the

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an African-American art museum at 144 West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Founded in 1968, the museum collects, preserves and interprets art created by African A ...

and

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. In 1960 his family moved to Greater Los Angeles. With two degrees, an Associate of Arts degree in Art / Photography from

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and a Certificate in Design from the Communicative Arts Academy, his legacy includes teaching at many institutions from Watts Towers Arts Center to the

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as well as being on the advisory committee for the Photography Department at his amla mater, Compton Community College. The social activism and outreach he made to the Greater Los Angeles community was honored many times, including being awarded a City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs in 2009. This was after over 20 years of awards and acknowledgment including three commendations from the Los Angeles City Council for his photography, and being named a "Hometown Hero" by the City of Compton. His influence reached much further than Los Angeles from his work being shown nationally in gallery settings, to his work as a director for the

Society for Photographic Education The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) is a nonprofit membership organization that provides a forum for the discussion of photography and related media as a means of creative expression and cultural insight. Through its interdisciplinary pro ...

. He even did a stint as a photographer for

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, having images of the African-American struggle in Los Angeles, mostly published in the European Editions. As a fine artist, he is best known for his works photographing the African-American people and communities in greater Los Angeles with dignity and respect. He is also well known for his photographic printing techniques, where he has painted photographic emulsion thickly, in a dripping fashion on surfaces, and then exposing this photosensitive material to make a print. He would do this in multiple layers. Later he moved to more digital processes, to achieve his multi-layered effects.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middlebrook, Willie Artists from Detroit African-American photographers 20th-century American photographers 1957 births 2012 deaths 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American people