Annenberg Space for Photography announces show for the man behind ‘The Black List,’ ‘The Trans List’

The photographer behind “The Black List” and “The Out List” will premiere “The Trans List,” featuring transgender actress Laverne Cox and Los Angeles activist Bamby Salcedo, among others, in a first-of-its-kind Los Angeles exhibition next month.

The Annenberg Space for Photography is expected to announce Wednesday that it will show work from Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ “The List” portrait and film series. The display, running from Sept. 24 to Feb. 26, will consist of more than 150 portraits that have not been exhibited together before.

The latest installment of Greenfield-Sanders’ series, “The Trans List,” has a companion documentary film that will debut Dec. 5 on HBO.

“It’s one thing to read and talk about the role of race and sexuality and gender identity in our lives,” said Cinny Kennard, executive director of the Annenberg Foundation, parent organization of the photography venue. “It’s another thing to turn a powerful, piercing camera lens on people of all races and sexual orientations and identities to get a window into our minds, souls [and] what defines us and divides us and unites us.

“Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is one of the most gifted portrait photographers working today. With these terrific portraits, he teaches us more about identity and self-realization, about how people see themselves and how they strive to be seen, than we can capture in many thousands of words.”

Inspired by a conversation with Nobel laureate Toni Morrison more than 10 years ago, Greenfield-Sanders began photographing and interviewing notable African American people for “The Black List,” a three-part documentary exploring black identity. “The Black List,” which debuted in 2008, was followed by “The Latino List,” “The Out List” and “The Women’s List.” Greenfield-Sanders said his goal from the outset has been to reflect the complex identities of various communities.

“There’s more than Oprah and Barack Obama,” he said about “The Black List.” “It’s also [businessman Richard Dean] “Dick” Parson and Chris Rock and Serena Williams. It’s not just [Supreme Court Justice] Sonia Sotomayor for Latinos, but it’s also Eva Longoria and Pitbull and so many more.”

The series has manifested itself as feature films on HBO and PBS, books, solo museum exhibitions, museum catalogs and an educational initiative, but never have all of the individual sections been on display together. Seeing all of the work all at once will be “quite moving,” Greenfield-Sanders said.

“I think there is something about the volume of images that gives you a bigger sense about achievements within these groups,” he said.

For more information, check out their website.

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