Attendees at a Jan. 30 preview event celebrate the opening of Bill Bamberger’s “Boys Will Be Men,” one of the Ackland’s latest exhibitions. (Erin Scannell; Huth photography)
The photo exhibition, on display at the Ackland until April 12, is the latest installment of a longtime project by Bill Bamberger ’79.
Over the past 40 years, photographer Bill Bamberger ’79 has taken portraits of male high school students on the verge of adulthood through his photo series, “Boys Will Be Men.”
Now, at the Ackland Art Museum, visitors can see the latest installment in the long-running series.
Commissioned in 2022, “Bill Bamberger: Boys Will Be Men” is the culmination of three years of work by the Carolina alum, the Ackland Art Museum and the Durham School of the Arts (DSA). Featuring 42 photographs of high school students, the exhibition offers an intimate look at what it means to be a young man today.
With the permission and support of DSA, Bamberger not only photographed the students but also interviewed them for the project, asking questions about masculinity. Their responses left a lasting impression.
Bamberger said the students’ vulnerability marked one of the biggest differences between this project and his previous two “Boys Will Be Men” series. (Erin Scannell; Huth Photography)
“So many of their stories just dealt with being different,” Bamberger said. “They told me personal stories about not fitting into the traditional male role and being in a world that they often don’t feel invited to.”
These stories sit at the center of the exhibition, where a slideshow of images plays on a monitor above a pair of headphones. The setup allows visitors to hear snippets from the students’ personal interviews as they view the images.
Bamberger said the students’ vulnerability marked one of the biggest differences between this project and his previous two “Boys Will Be Men” series. He began in 1984 in Deerfield, Massachusetts, when he was a teacher at Deerfield Academy, an all-male private boarding school. He returned to the project in 2000, photographing students at Flint Central High School in Flint, Michigan.
Students also provided testimonials to Bamberger, which visitors can listen to as part of the exhibition. (Erin Scannell; Huth Photography)
Lauren Turner, associate curator for contemporary art and special projects at the Ackland, oversaw the exhibition in collaboration with Bamberger and DSA. She, too, was struck by the students’ testimonials when she experienced the final version of the exhibition.
“One of the things that I had expected to see was students talking more about social media,” Turner said. “Whereas I was really heartened to see how much of the conversations were more focused on the benefits and influences they get from friendships.”
Turner hopes Carolina students will be moved by Bamberger’s portraits.
“I hope that what anyone comes and is reminded of is that we’re all works in progress,” Turner said. “They may ask themselves, ‘What do I think I am?’ or ‘What do I think I want to be?’ And hopefully they find some comfort that that uncertainty can be universal.”
By Josh McCormack, University Communications and Marketing
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