“In her innovative and timely revisiting of the work of America’s most iconic Black photographer, James Van Der Zee, Emilie Boone reinvigorates the practice of this singular artist through a careful and considered unpacking of the social function his images served as quotidian objects. A Nimble Arc takes readers on a captivating journey into the social life of Van Der Zee’s photographs in ways that allow us to see iconic images anew and recognize the enduring value of photography as a community-building project that exceeds the intentions and aspirations of any individual photographer.”
-- Tina M. Campt, author of A Black Gaze: Artists Changing How We See
“This is a truly exceptional work. Exquisitely written, researched, and argued, A Nimble Arc is the most comprehensive study of James Van Der Zee’s practice in almost thirty years. I predict a long and fruitful life for this book.”
-- Kellie Jones, author of South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s
"A Nimble Arc broadens James Van Der Zee’s legacy amid a savvied history of twentieth-century Harlem."
-- Meg Nola Foreword Reviews