Deanna Lowman – “Oshun” from O-TRAITS: Revealing Orisha
By Jeremy Johnson
College of Arts & Media
Photography student Deanna Lowman has recently been getting a lot of attention for her work. Not only is she often seen at campus events snapping photos that have appeared on the web and in College of Arts & Media and other campus publications, she has earned some pretty impressive honors as well.
One of her photos was recently published in Photographer's Forum Magazine-Best of College Photography Annual 2005. Her work was one of 100 chosen out of over 30,000 entries for the contest. Also, she had a review of the exhibition "PiLLish: Harsh Realities and Gorgeous Expectations" published in the April 2005 issue of Exposure Magazine and she is listed in the Who’s Who Among American College Students 2005.
“You know, this may sound crazy, but when the information came and I saw my position, I threw all of the information away because I didn't win first prize (a Nikon D70 camera and $1,000). It wasn't until I saw how proud Joann [Brennan] and Carol [Golemboski] were of my achievement, that the award actually meant something to me,” she said.
Lowman commented that the only award she’s received before now was an honorable mention for a film short at the Denver Pan African Film Festival.
“I took all of the photographs and then worked with a director and editor to complete the project,” Lowman said. “It was called Sakile's Brooklyn. It also played on Channel 12 on a show called Drop Frame. That was pretty big for a first time out.”
Born in Denver, Lowman went to Thomas Jefferson High School. She’s lived in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York before returning to her hometown to go to school at the Downtown Denver Campus, where she will graduate this May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography.
Lowman said Black Student Services Director Rene Rabouin was instrumental in her decision to seek her degree from UCDHSC.
“I knew him from the community Kwanzaa Committee and saw him at the spring Open House. He asked if I wanted to go back to school and if so, did I want to do a study abroad in Ghana? I saw this as an encouraging sign from God to get back into school,” she said.
Being a photographer has been a goal of Lowman’s for a long time: she developed an interest in photography when she was 8. Her older brother had taken photography in high school and frequently used her as a model for his school assignments. He ended up teaching her all about how the cameras worked and how to select the subject matter and set up shots.
Although she does not have a favorite work of art, she said she has been inspired by the work of James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks. She also noted that Tony Gleaton, and Albert Chong have been very helpful to her and have given her priceless advice. Beyond that, she said her religion has been a huge influence on her work.
Her BFA Thesis Exhibition, showing May 4-6 at St. Cajetan’s, is a reflection of her spirituality. The show has been titled Otraits: Revealing Orisha and is an exhibition of African gods and goddesses in the Yoruba tradition through self-portraiture.
One of her most important relationships is with her daughter whom she plans to spend time with after graduation by chaperoning her class trip to Elitch’s. She stressed the importance of work and doing right by your family in success. “Make sure that you figure out a balance between doing what you love, and doing something that will pay the bills,” she said.