Object number2022.6.1

Stoop Stare Down (Nia & Afiya), Harlem, NYC

Date2020

Artist Ruben Natal-San Miguel (born Puerto Rican, active America, born 1963)

CultureAmerican

MediumKodak endura luster finish photograph

DimensionsSheet: 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
Image: 15 1/2 x 19 3/4 in. (39.4 x 50.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of the artist

On View

Not on view

Period21st c

Classification(s)

Photograph

SignedSigned archival label

InscribedNot inscribed

Vassar Exhibitions

Where We Go, Where We Stay: Exploring Place and Identity Through Photography

Label TextNia and Afiya are mother and daughter. At the time this photograph was taken, Nia was a retired banker who owned the building behind them. Afiya is Nia’s daughter, who earned her MBA and worked at Goldman Sachs. Here they gaze at one another, a knowing glance between mother and daughter, reserved for only them. Their neighbor, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, watched Nia raise Afiya and saw how their relationship unfolded on the stoop of their Harlem home. This relationship touched him so much that he included this photograph in an exhibition titled “Woman R Beautiful,” which was inspired by his connection to his own mother. “Woman R Beautiful” was set to open days before the COVID-19 pandemic, challenging the ways in which he was able to share this body of work.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu