Theaster Gates curated photos from Johnson Publishing, Howard Simmons for Obama Presidential Center mural

When you walk into the Forum building at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, you are immediately welcomed by a mural of photos lining the wall. The work is not only a salute to the South Side, but a way to honor the work of a local artist who got his start with Ebony Magazine.

Howard Simmons, now 83 years old, is a self-taught photographer whose work was featured in Ebony Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times.  Examining his life's work now, he sees it in a new light.

"I keep finding images that are—I can even say priceless," he said.

Simmons got his start with Ebony Magazine, which he described as "a fairytale." He then became the second Black photographer working for the Sun-Times.

Now Simmons and his old negatives have exposure like never before. Renowned visual artist Theaster Gates, who oversees the archive of Johnson Publishing – the publisher Ebony and Jet magazines – has put Simmons' work at the center of his installation.

"They speak to Howard's archive and the decades that he spent shooting everyday life and notable life," Gates said. "I really felt like this was the perfect opportunity to continue to celebrate the legacy of Johnson Publishing and my friendship with a photographer named Howard Simmons."

The installation runs along the walls of the Forum's Hadiya Pendleton Atrium, snapshots of everyday life rendered on industrial aluminum.

"It just felt like, man, this tapestry of the United States is so rich, maybe this could be a reminder on the South Side, in the United States, of the power of joy and laughter and free expression," Gates said.

The aluminum gives the printed photographs a unique and living quality.

"The light catches it, and it does something very beautiful. It creates a kind of electricity in the images that I really love," said Gates.

Gates revived photos from the Johnson Publish Company archive, and Simmons' personal archive. He chose six of Howard's images to include, including a family favorite.

"Two of my daughters as young girls at an ice cream truck," Simmons explained. "I took that photograph of my girls, and there they are at the Obama Presidential Center."

"That work didn't just have consequence back in the day," Gates said. "That work continues to be resonant."

Now everyone can see a lifetime of work in a new light.