User:Mhelenap/Billy Abernathy

Fundi (Billy) Abernathy
Billy Abernathy was an American photographer. He was a born in 1939 and died in 2016. Abernathy was married to artist, Laini (Sylvia) Abernathy, an artist and activist.

History
Around the 1070s both him and his wife Sylvia to Fundi Abernathy and Laini Abernathy with the purpose of "africanizing their name". Along side his wife, Abernathy worked documenting African American Black culture in the South Side of Chicago. Billy (Fundi) Abernathy was associated with the AfriCOBRA, a group of black artists who worked in Chicago seeking a way of bring light to black communities in the art.

Career
Billy Abernathy collaborated on The Wall of Respect with his wife, Sylvia. He worked alongside artists Elliott Hunter and Jeff Donaldson on the Wall's "Jazz" section as well as the "Rhythm and Blues" section. Between the three of them they worked on creating a photograph based mural of The Wall scattered around different areas of Chicago. Abernathy was also associated with the Organization of Black American Culture(OBAC); he was one of the photographer members.

Fundi Abernathy was one of the photographers featured in the Art Institute's 2018 exhibit "Never a Lovely So Real: Photography and Film in Chicago, 1950–1980". One of the featured photographs of Abernathy's was "The Screen", shot in 1967. Other words found in the Art Institute of Chicago are: "Mother's Day", "The Robe", and "Chicago". In 1966, he photographed for Roscoe Mitchell Sextet's Album cover, Delmark which his wife designed. Fundi also worked on the multi media book "In Our Terribleness".