The 2023 Lenscratch 1st Place Student Prize Winner: Christian K. Lee

The 2023 Lenscratch 1st Place Student Prize Winner: Christian K. Lee by Aline SmithsonJuly 24, 2023

Aaron Banks, 38, and his son Aaron Banks Jr., 08, embrace at a local park on Saturday, May 22, 2021 in Cedar Park, Tx. “The image of the average gun enthusiast needs an update,” Mr Banks said. He is the President of Keep Firing LLC where he has made his son the CEO. Currently he is one of 24 Pistol Instructors certified by the National African American Gun Association.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Aaron Banks, 38, and his son Aaron Banks Jr., 08, embrace at a local park on Saturday, May 22, 2021 in Cedar Park, Tx. “The image of the average gun enthusiast needs an update,” Mr Banks said. He is the President of Keep Firing LLC where he has made his son the CEO. Currently he is one of 24 Pistol Instructors certified by the National African American Gun Association.

It is with pleasure that the jurors announce the 2023 Lenscratch Student Prize 1st Place Winner, Christian K. Lee. Lee was selected for his project, Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, and is currently attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago working towards an MFA in Photography. The 1st Place Winner receives a $1500 cash prize, a $250 cash prize and a seat at the New England Portfolio Reviews from The Griffin Museum of Photography, a $750 Gift Certificate toward portfolio printing at The Image Flow, a $500 Gift Certificate from Freestyle Photo Supplies, a seat at the Exposure Reviews from the Los Angeles Center of Photography Workshop, a $1000 Gift Certificate towards a Santa Fe Photo Workshop, a mini exhibition on the Curated Fridge, a collection of books from St.Lucy Books, a collection of books from Yoffy Press, a collection of books from Kris Graves Projects, a collection of books from Zatara Press, a one year subscription to Aperture Magazine, a review session with Hamidah Glasgow, Executive Director of the Center for Fine Art Photography, a year long mentorship with Aline Smithson, a Lenscratch T-Shirt and totea feature on Lenscratch , a mini exhibition on the Curated Fridge, and a Lenscratch T-shirt and Tote. Needkess to say, we are so grateful to our amazing sponsors.

It is with particular pleasure we celebrate Christian K. Lee as the 2023 Lenscratch Student Prize Winner. We met numerous years ago at a portfolio review and knew immediately that Lee had a bright future in photography. He is a thoughtful artist and a keen observer of cultural and societal disparities. His project, Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, has been a trigger for much needed conversations around gun ownership, in particular,Black gun ownership. He photographs his subjects and their firearms in a way that is direct, but not charged with an agenda. This important work is a collection intimate portraits that push back on stereotypes that reject that being Black and armed is dangerous and threatening. Growing up, Lee saw a positive, responsible side of firearms ownership as his father was an Army veteran and a police officer. As he states, “The point of this project is to recondition myself, and others, toward the more positive view of Black people and guns: to promote a more balanced archive of images of African Americans with firearms by showing responsible gun owners — those who use these weapons for sport, hobby and protection. I hope these photos bring that important point into focus.”

An enormous thank you to our jurors: Aline Smithson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lenscratch, Educator and Artist, Daniel George, Submissions Editor of Lenscratch, Educator and Artist, Linda Alterwitz, Art + Science Editor of Lenscratch and Artist, Kellye Eisworth, Managing Editor of Lenscratch, Educator and Artist, Alexa Dilworth, publishing director, senior editor, and awards director at the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University, Kris Graves, Director of Kris Graves Projects, photographer and publisher based in New York and London, Elizabeth Cheng Krist, Former Senior Photo Editor with National Geographic magazine and founding member of the Visual Thinking Collective, Hamidah Glasgow, Director of the Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO, Yorgos Efthymiadis, Artist and Founder of the Curated Fridge, Drew Leventhal, Artist and Publisher, winner of the 2022 Lenscratch Student Prize, Allie Tsubota, Artist and Educator, winner of the 2021 Lenscratch Student Prize, Raymond Thompson, Jr., Artist and Educator, winner of the 2020 Lenscratch Student Prize, Guanyu Xu, Artist and Educator, winner of the 2019 Lenscratch Student Prize, Shawn Bush, Artist, Educator, and Publisher, winner of the 2017 Lenscratch Student Prize.

Portrait of Christian K. Lee

Christian K. Lee (b. 1991; Chicago, IL) draws from his experiences to utilize Art as an investigative tool. Christian’s goal is to create imagery that reflects the world in which he currently lives. His work has been exhibited internationally and has been featured in The Washington Post, NPR, Forbes Magazine and several others.

Instagram:@chrisklee_jpeg

Jamyce Brown, 29, right, embraces her husband Keon Brown, 27, outside of their home on Sunday, April 18, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “In my hometown introducing a child to a gun may be potentially setting them up for failure,” Chicago native Jamyce said.

©Christian K. Lee, Armed Don’t Mean Dangerous, Jamyce Brown, 29, right, embraces her husband Keon Brown, 27, outside of their home on Sunday, April 18, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “In my hometown introducing a child to a gun may be potentially setting them up for failure,” Chicago native Jamyce said.

Armed Doesn’t Means Dangerous

“Armed Doesn’t Means Dangerous” began when I realized that I had only seen negative images of African American gun owners. I became curious as to why that imbalance exists. My goal is not to promote gun ownership, but to utilize it as a gateway to discuss larger issues in American society.

“There is a higher crime rate when people cannot work and earn,” says Chicago resident Angela Ross Williams. The 67-year-old became a gun owner out of necessity to protect herself from crime. Community members such as Angela inspire me to continue this work.

I want to show that gun ownership in urban communities are symptoms of bad policies and lack of resourcing, rather than an obsession with guns. The research conducted by The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence supports this claim, identifying the root causes of gun violence to be poverty and lack of opportunity, among other factors.

Tiana Tucker, 41, inside of her mother’s home on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 in Chicago. Tucker is a conceal carry firearm instructor. “With the new wave of violence and crime its necessary to protect yourself,” Tucker said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Tiana Tucker, 41, inside of her mother’s home on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 in Chicago. Tucker is a conceal carry firearm instructor. “With the new wave of violence and crime its necessary to protect yourself,” Tucker said.

Can you define the moment that you knew it was your purpose to be a photographer and what drove you to create the work that you are creating today?

I began to take photography seriously in August 2014 during the Ferguson Unrest. It was a time when my community and the world witnessed the unarmed shooting death of Michael Brown by a police officer. Before it became national or international news, I was there, and I remember feeling like this needed to be documented. After that, I saw an influx of photographers into the community from press organizations. I remember feeling bothered that people from outside of my community had more of a right to tell my story on a national scale than the people residing in the community. I set out to do something about that. That thought fueled my photo making process for several years. Recently, I was in the Army until June 2022. During my service, there were things we were instructed not to talk about in the face of more killings of people by law enforcement, because it would be a conflict of interest. My burning desire to create was reignited and I allowed my art to talk when I knew I could not use my words.

Stephanie Riley, 38, inside of her home on Saturday, June 25, 2022 in Chicago. Riley is a firearm instructor with 10 years of experience. She was required to own a firearm through the capacity of her job but realized that she could use it for self protection.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Stephanie Riley, 38, inside of her home on Saturday, June 25, 2022 in Chicago. Riley is a firearm instructor with 10 years of experience. She was required to own a firearm through the capacity of her job but realized that she could use it for self protection.

Can you share about how this work came to be and what you have learned personally from working on this project?

I noticed that there were more protests happening and I didn’t feel as motivated to cover them because I was mentally drained from Ferguson. I felt drained seeing black people die. I felt like the images that we see a lot of times that come from these protests really only show our anger and don’t get at the underlying issues that’s causing these problems in the first place. I wanted to really start creating work that got to some of the underlying issues affecting our communities and what happened was interesting.

I was living in Texas and I’m from Chicago, so I was really comparing the two places a lot. Then I realized, I never saw a black person depicted positively around a gun until I moved to Texas. At first, I didn’t even have something I was trying to say or something I was trying to prove. It was like, I know that I’ve never seen this, and I know that responsible owners exist in Chicago; and I wanted to go create those images. I realized that it was larger than Chicago. I had never seen responsible African American owners anywhere, so I wanted to go create those images that I wasn’t seeing and that was the origin of the project. Since then, I started doing my own research work, studying law, studying the constitution, and started reading books. I realized that there’s a lot more undertones for why this exists.

Brandon Antone, 37, stands outside of his apartment complex holding his firearm on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Antone started a Facebook group with nearly 2,000 members in the Austin area with the goal of creating a safe space for African Americans to talk about firearms. “I noticed when I go to the range it wasn’t a lot of us there so I wanted to create a place we could talk about guns,” he said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Brandon Antone, 37, stands outside of his apartment complex holding his firearm on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Antone started a Facebook group with nearly 2,000 members in the Austin area with the goal of creating a safe space for African Americans to talk about firearms. “I noticed when I go to the range it wasn’t a lot of us there so I wanted to create a place we could talk about guns,” he said.

This work has gotten some attention in the photo world. What has the reaction been?

In many ways it has served as a vessel to spark conversation. I remember showing at an exhibition and a group of people began thanking me for working on the project. It was that kind of feeling that was like, “you get what I’ve been trying to say but no one has ever said it”. I have received countless emails from across the world of people thanking me or simply just wanting to learn more about American society. Even if someone disagrees with the work, I find that after a conversation they walk away more informed of why the work is being made from this perspective. I’ve had several people flat out admit that the work made them acknowledge their own biases. I think it’s powerful that an image can do that. The work has allowed for some powerful dialogue.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Firearm near an owners bedside.

When I first met you, you were serving in the military. How does that experience inform your practice?

I began the project in 2021 and at that time I was completing my time in the Army. I served as a Logistic Officer and my exiting rank was as a 1st Lieutenant. I figured if the military felt that I was responsible enough to utilize a firearm to protect citizens, I should also be utilizing my rights to protect myself, family and community. That discovery coupled with the idea that, as part of my service, I had just moved from Chicago to Texas (two places where conversations around firearms are widely discussed) it was natural that I began to explore this as an art subject. I also think that the basic soft skills one learns in the army, such as how to make a plan and complete it, definitely applies to my practice. I feel more organized as an artist after my service. I received an Army Achievement Medal for some of my art which is ironic in the army because most people receive this medal for doing a great job at their assigned mission. This accomplishment was one of the reasons that made me resign from my position. It was a sign that I needed to take art more seriously and pursue it full time.

Marvin West, 39, holds his dog outside of his home with his firearm positioned on his hip on Monday, April 06, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “It’s more to the picture than what you see,” West said. People often judge him based on his appearance. He mentions that those people would be surprised to know that he’s an educated business owner that holds a Masters degree.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Marvin West, 39, holds his dog outside of his home with his firearm positioned on his hip on Monday, April 06, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “It’s more to the picture than what you see,” West said. People often judge him based on his appearance. He mentions that those people would be surprised to know that he’s an educated business owner that holds a Masters degree.

What have you learned on this journey so far? Anything you want to pass on?

This series has taught me that creating from your heart matters. This is one of the first times that I felt uncomfortable making work. This was because I knew what some reactions would be. I couldn’t help but make the work because I knew I was talking about my own personal experience. I didn’t wish to be born into a community with crime, destiny made it that way. As an artist I turned my lens to my community and I wish to tell the stories I want to be seen and told more. I want to encourage all artists to push past the comfortability level. I believe many times artists censor what or how they may create because they understand the audience the work will have to be presented in. I encourage everyone to keep their work in the purest form. I encourage you to create it just the way you envisioned it, the first time.

Alisa Coleman, 25, background, embraces Sharise Campbell, 26, after their date at a local gun range. “I’ve seen people get shot so I don’t like guns however we understand it’s for protection,” Coleman said. Although Coleman and Campbell are a couple their view of guns are different however they both agree that is necessary to protect their family. “I got to protect my family at all cost,” Campbell said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Alisa Coleman, 25, background, embraces Sharise Campbell, 26, after their date at a local gun range. “I’ve seen people get shot so I don’t like guns however we understand it’s for protection,” Coleman said. Although Coleman and Campbell are a couple their view of guns are different however they both agree that is necessary to protect their family. “I got to protect my family at all cost,” Campbell said.

Do you have a mentor you would like to acknowledge or are there specific artists that have influenced you that you would like to send a shout out too?

I am a fan of any artist striving to share their own personal experience through photography. This includes photographers such as James VanDerZee and Gordon Parks. I also want to give a shout out to the countless photographers who document their communities but never receive recognition for their work because they were not granted the same opportunities. Their work is just as important. The work of Mary Ellen Mark really inspires me, I love how she can engulf herself into any community and walk away with a powerful image. Specifically, her portraiture is striking.

Damillah Lane, 26, is embraced by her daughtyer Skylar Lane, 8, as she holds her firearm outside of her home on Saturday, April 10, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “Whenever my husband leaves I feel a need to protect my family,” Damillah said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Damillah Lane, 26, is embraced by her daughtyer Skylar Lane, 8, as she holds her firearm outside of her home on Saturday, April 10, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “Whenever my husband leaves I feel a need to protect my family,” Damillah said.

Justin Barlow, 34, left, gazes at wife Cha’von Barlow, 33, outside of their home on Saturday, June 18, 2021 in Round Rock, Tx. “I never want my family to feel powerless,” Justin said. He was introduced to guns at the age 14 through hunting. Later he introduced his wife to guns. “In my absence my wife and children will be safe,” he said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Justin Barlow, 34, left, gazes at wife Cha’von Barlow, 33, outside of their home on Saturday, June 18, 2021 in Round Rock, Tx. “I never want my family to feel powerless,” Justin said. He was introduced to guns at the age 14 through hunting. Later he introduced his wife to guns. “In my absence my wife and children will be safe,” he said.

David Butler, 55, grasps his hunting rifle near his home on July 24, 2021 in Manor, Tx. Leasing of hunting land serves as a financial barrier for many African Americans. “A year lease can be upwards of $1100 and you may only walk away with one deer that year,” Butler said. “I believe a lot of people would love to hunt if they had the opportunity,” he said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, David Butler, 55, grasps his hunting rifle near his home on July 24, 2021 in Manor, Tx. Leasing of hunting land serves as a financial barrier for many African Americans. “A year lease can be upwards of $1100 and you may only walk away with one deer that year,” Butler said. “I believe a lot of people would love to hunt if they had the opportunity,” he said.

Angela Ross Williams, 67, in her living room on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 in Chicago. Angela says she needs her firearm because there is a lot of crime in Chicago which stems from a lack of housing, food, jobs and access to mental health facilities. Her husband does not prefer guns in the household but he respects her desire to defend herself. “There is a higher crime rate when it is nothing there for people to work and earn,” she said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Angela Ross Williams, 67, in her living room on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 in Chicago. Angela says she needs her firearm because there is a lot of crime in Chicago which stems from a lack of housing, food, jobs and access to mental health facilities. Her husband does not prefer guns in the household but he respects her desire to defend herself. “There is a higher crime rate when it is nothing there for people to work and earn,” she said.

Lindberg Wilborn, 32, stands holding the target he used to qualify for his license to carry outside a local gun range on Saturday, March 27, 2021 in Killeen, TX. He has owned his firearm for about 3 months. “Society looks at black men as predators and scary people so most of us are scared to own a firearm in fear of fueling the fear that already exists,” Wilborn said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Lindberg Wilborn, 32, stands holding the target he used to qualify for his license to carry outside a local gun range on Saturday, March 27, 2021 in Killeen, TX. He has owned his firearm for about 3 months. “Society looks at black men as predators and scary people so most of us are scared to own a firearm in fear of fueling the fear that already exists,” Wilborn said.

Brothers Dorian Black, 20, from left, and Ashton Black, 13, postures their firearm as Datrelle Black, 46, is embraced by his wife Rohonda Black, 44, outside of their home on Sunday, April 18, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “For my children I take the curiosity out of it, total avoidance of guns teaches fear we should inform our children of gun safety,” Datrelle said.

©Christian K. Lee, from Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, Brothers Dorian Black, 20, from left, and Ashton Black, 13, postures their firearm as Datrelle Black, 46, is embraced by his wife Rohonda Black, 44, outside of their home on Sunday, April 18, 2021 in Killeen, Tx. “For my children I take the curiosity out of it, total avoidance of guns teaches fear we should inform our children of gun safety,” Datrelle said.

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