Ivan McClellan
Eight Seconds
Jun 6 - 29, 2024
The Eight Seconds project documents the lives of black men and women who live a western lifestyle across the United States. For the past 8 years I've traveled to rodeos and farms interacting with people in this rare, dying, and extraordinary culture hearing their stories and taking their photos. This work has transformed perceptions about identities in the West, challenging the myth of the American cowboy and expanding this archetype to include Black men and women in rural and urban environments. I've found Black cowboys in almost every state including less than a mile from where I grew up. Discovering this culture right under my nose in my hometown of Kansas City, Kansas has changed my perception of home from a place of pain and poverty to a place of pride, independence and grit. Black cowboys and cowgirls are aging rapidly as young people flock from rural United States to the cities. My aim is to preserve their stories and drive interest in the compelling figures that keep these traditions alive.
Ivan McClellan (American, b. 1982, he/him/his) is a photojournalist and designer based in Portland, Oregon. His work reveals marginalized aspects of black culture and challenges broad assumptions and myths about racial identity in America. His project Eight Seconds, focused on elevating narratives about American Black cowboys, has transformed Western culture centering Black women and men within it.
His work has been displayed at Portland Art Museum, Tucson Museum of Art, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Harwood Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, and Eiteljorg Museum.
Ivan has published two books of photography, Eight Seconds: Black Cowboys in America(Self) and Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture(Damiani)
“Eight Seconds represents friendship and community and what it takes to cultivate those bonds. McClellan is able to evade just “helicoptering in” and merely taking photos. He is forming something deeper and meaningful while redefining the idea of Western history and identity in this particular landscape by way of simply sharing what he sees and telling the stories he observes.” - Le Mille