Audio Description of "Black Boy Joy"

UNC Greensboro University Libraries

2022

All rights reserved

English

D024

This artwork is a digital collage done by Phillip Marsh. It is inspired by Marsh’s interview with Industries of the Blind partner, Bianca Johnson. The piece is entitled Black Boy Joy.
In the center is a photograph of a young black boy sitting cross-legged, reading from a large, blue book with a focused gaze. The boy is wearing blue jeans and brown Velcro shoes. The book he is reading covers his torso and stops just below his nose. In his lap there are three closed books. The center book has a bright, red cover. The bottom book has the name, DEVIN, in capital block letters showing in front of the pages.
From top to bottom in capitalized block letters the artwork spells the words, SON S-O-N, AUTHOR, and POETRY. SON is behind the boy’s head in an opaque, light blue. AUTHOR is split into two columns. The top one spells A-U-T and the bottom spells H-O-R. These letters are in front of the boy and the bottom half of the word SON, but they are transparent yellow so they do not block the other images. They span from the top of the boy’s head down to his knees. At the bottom, the word POETRY is in black letters. The letters P and Y are opaque, but the rest of the word is slightly transparent in front of the boy’s legs and feet.
That is the objective description of the artwork. My interpretation is that the artist was inspired by graphic advertising iconography. The way the letters are stacked and capitalized is reminiscent of sports advertisement like Nike’s Just Do It campaign. Judging by the title of the artwork, the choice of words and the boy’s curiosity for reading, the piece evokes a sense of growth, possibility and joy for learning. The words son and author imply that the boy has family guidance and that one day he may write books himself.

Audio Recording

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