Picture Man: Portraits by Polo Silk

Against a centuries-long standard defining portraiture as something bound by tradition, photographer Polo Silk's body of work poses accessibility, character, and immediacy as standout qualities in a portrait. Using instant-photo technology and stepping out of the studio and into the streets of New Orleans, Silk carved a niche for himself that redefined a genre into something more reflective of real people in a real place—even before the portrait's transformation into the selfie with the rise of social media. Over thirty five of Silk's most iconic images spanning twenty years, from 1987–2007—along with two airbrushed backdrops he used in his portraits, created by artist Otis Spears—will be displayed in the New Orleans Museum of Art's exhibition Picture Man: Portraits by Polo Silk. Details at noma.org.