{"id":330,"date":"2018-12-14T14:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T22:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=999931314"},"modified":"2019-08-15T16:46:11","modified_gmt":"2019-08-15T23:46:11","slug":"this-is-real-this-is-life-duke-givens-channels-loss-into-his-power-of-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/this-is-real-this-is-life-duke-givens-channels-loss-into-his-power-of-choice","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;This is real, this is life&#8217;: Duke Givens channels loss into his Power of Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Duke Givens On Gang Life and the &quot;Power of Choice&quot; in His Latest Photo Exhibit\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0Buj1lpA5so?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h6><em>Video by Nancy Raven Kirk<\/em><\/h6>\n<p>Duke Givens lost a generation of friends to gang violence.<\/p>\n<p>Walking around the second floor of the Expo Arts Building, the Long Beach-born and bred photographer and documentary filmmaker points to portraits he took in the early \u201890s. Roughly half of those subjects\u2014friends he grew up with, went to school with, played Pop Warner football with\u2014are serving life sentences, or dead. Conversely, another half of the room displays prominent and esteemed community members, friends he grew up with, and colleagues he\u2019s met in adulthood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis image,\u201d he says, pointing to a photo he took at a friend\u2019s funeral, \u201crepresents a generation; that\u2019s what that casket represents. Just so many young men who didn\u2019t get a chance to fulfill their purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The portraits showcasing the lives lost during the eruption of gang violence in Long Beach during the 1980s are just one half of the latest installment of his photography exhibit, Power of Choice. With one side of the room dedicated to the realities of the past, the opposite wall highlights community members who chose a different life.<\/p>\n<p>Power of Choice, Givens says, is a Southern California perspective on those who chose to live the \u201cstreet life\u201d and those who chose to dedicate their lives to improving the community.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the faces of those who chose the latter immediately stand out: Councilman Rex Richardson, Councilman Al Austin, Vice Mayor Dee Andrews and VIP Records\u2019 owner Calvin Anderson. Austin, whom Givens refers to as a personal mentor, called the comparison and contrast of the images \u201cclear and powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[It] is a very real, in-your-face message of how our decisions affect our lifestyles, families, community and perceptions of who we are as a people,\u201d he wrote in an email. \u201cEach image is a unique story about the success and challenges of black Long Beach. It is also a blunt reminder of how deep and generational the gang subculture is in areas of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The series, inspired partially by Givens\u2019 1995 \u201cStop Gang Violence\u201d calendar, which featured Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G, among others, is primarily geared toward children. Givens says that he wants to \u201cplant a seed\u201d in the minds of young people, to inspire them to take control of their lives and to let them know that no matter their background or circumstances, they have the power to choose who they become.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuke\u2019s exhibit gives us an opportunity to really break outside the stereotypes of men; men of color in our city, and really demonstrate the unsung heroes, the real stories of people who are enduring, leading and being really positive images for our community,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cI think we should support more culturally relevant art like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With no text accompanying the images, Givens wants to send the message that the history of violence, death and incarceration is not unique to Long Beach, nor is the reality that individuals have the power to choose to live purposeful lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWherever you are, on your journey in life, you have greatness inside you,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s just how you tap into it to fulfill your purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/ezgif.com-add-text-2.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-999931321\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/ezgif.com-add-text-2.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Givens calls Power of Choice a \u201cliving gallery.\u201d As he continues to meet people who positively contribute to the community, Givens adds portraits to the series. Farmers and Merchants Bank Senior Vice President Reva Hynes first met Givens almost 25 years ago. He photographed her wedding, and her son has been featured in some of Givens\u2019 other work. Hynes, who has been working in banking for 27 years, said she was honored that Givens\u2019 thought enough of her to ask her to pose for the series.<\/p>\n<p>As one of a handful of women featured, Hynes hopes to send \u201ca message to young ladies and girls that despite their fears, personal challenges or demographics &#8230; they are responsible for their legacy and can do anything that they put their minds too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Being a continually evolving series, Givens has shown versions of Power of Choice in the past. While most who have seen it have had a positive reaction, Givens says some people have viewed it in a negative light.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s viewed as stereotypical in certain capacities,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople don\u2019t like to be portrayed in a negative light. But this is real, this is life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walking in front of his earlier portraits, Givens points to a photo he took of a childhood friend named Terrell. Givens says that when the drug scene hit Long Beach in the late 80s, \u201cit just hit my childhood friends like a flood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went from playing football in the streets\u2026 [to] not being able to be outside like I used to,\u201d he says. \u201cGuys we grew up with changed. They went from being innocent, nice young men, to becoming violent young men. Because you live on this side of town, you belong to this gang; because you live on that side of town you belong to that gang. Guys that we grew up with turned on each other and basically participated in genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wanting to escape the gangs rising around him, Givens joined the Air Force in 1989. After being honorably discharged in 1993, he returned to Long Beach, only to find the violence worse and many of his friends dead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe went to a lot of funerals, to the point where it becomes numbing, it just makes you unable to feel pleasure,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you have people who you play kickball with \u2026 road your bikes on the backside of Signal Hill and went swimming with. Now they\u2019re gone. Why? Of course, it\u2019s choice. But, they\u2019re still gone, and you still miss them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Givens plans on continuing to grow the gallery\u2019s content base and to work with local schools to hopefully incorporate the exhibit into the curriculum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI primarily designed it for young minds because it\u2019s easier in my thought process to reach a child,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople, when they get older, get set in their ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, Givens would like the images compiled into a coffee table book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think what he\u2019s doing is absolutely awesome,\u201d says exhibit subject Tippi Hall who works at the Boeing Company. \u201cIt highlights the people in Long Beach and in our neighborhoods. It\u2019s reflective of who we are, of who we\u2019ve become.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Power of Choice will be open for private viewing Dec. 16 at the Expo Arts Building in Bixby Knolls. Those who wish to view the exhibit can contact Duke Givens via email at dukecalendars@yahoo.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the latest edition of his Power of Choice exhibit, Long Beach-based photographer Duke Givens amplifies the impact of choices by juxtaposing the diverse paths of friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":261,"featured_media":65856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3,186],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[5834],"class_list":["post-330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-instagram","tag-photography","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/261"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19851,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions\/19851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}