The Awards Collective was created to feature the works of artists who have received either a Juror’s Award or Director’s Award in ASG’s Online exhibitions. J Michael Skaggs’s image Rankin House View Early Evening received the Juror’s Award in the sanctuary exhibition juried by Doug Beasley. Michael’s exhibition Invisible Man and Invisible Woman is discussed in this GalleryTalk.
Artist Statement
Invisible Man
1995
It has been my observation that racism, sexism and classism are three of the most divisive issues in contemporary American culture. Ideally, my photos may aid in heightening the awareness and effect positive change to eliminate oppression.
Invisible Man is a conceptual photography project that was produced during the summer of 1995 in a graduate class at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Klaus Schnitzer was the professor.
The images were photographed in the Gateway National Recreation Area; Fort Hancock – Sandy Hook, New Jersey; and Fort Wadsworth – Staten Island, New York.
There were four inspirations for the photo exhibition.
• Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel, Invisible Man.
I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids —
and I might even be said to possess a mind.
I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me …
When they approach me they only see my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination —
indeed, everything and anything except me.
• Marco Golding, a young Black Packaging Engineer who questioned my 3 promotions in 5 years at Colgate-Palmolive and him not being promoted in his first 5 years at C-P. Marco is the contemporary “Invisible Man” and the “Invisible Man” subject in the photos.
• The deterioration of Fort Hancock and Fort Wadsworth since the government deactivated them in the mid 1970s.
• The Supreme Court’s 5-4 deactivation of affirmative action on June 12, 1995, in favor of Adarand Constructors v. Pena. The court ruled that racial classifications may be used as a “narrowly tailored” remedy for identifiable past discrimination.
J Michael Skaggs
September, 2026
Invisible Woman
2007
Megan D. Henson wrote a reaction paper to my Invisible Man photography presentation for class at Northern Kentucky University in the Spring Semester 2007. Megan’s paper inspired me to create a social documentary, Invisible Woman. Invisible Woman is an extension of Invisible Man and could only have been made with the insight, poetry and collaboration of Megan. Megan had never been the subject of a photography exhibit previously, yet her relentless pursuit of excellence as a poet and model stimulated me to capture the rapture.
J Michael Skaggs
September, 2026
The most beautiful thing about Invisible Woman is not the art you see. The real art dwells in the collaboration between two people: a man and a woman from two different generations, a photographer and a writer, a teacher, and a student. Yet, it’s one work. Two extremely different artists set aside all experiences and combined all experiences to capture humanity–the one thing that some people ignore when they look in the mirror or at someone else.
Megan D Henson
September, 2026
Bio
Michael’s award-winning photography has been published in The State of America, Black & White Magazine, B&W+Color Magazine, Licking River Review, True NKU and RoHoPress.com.
He is the author of Americans Revisited Vol. I (Edgecliff Press, 2008), photographer for What Pain Does (Dos Madres Press, 2018), Little Girl Gray (Dos Madres Press, 2020), Critical Race Theory; Still Dreamin’ 1993-2023 Retrospective (RoHoPress.com, 2024), Could I be President? (RoHoPress.com, 2025). and Railroaded: History Repeats Itself Post-Trump Inauguration, January 20, 2025 (RoHoPress.com, 2025).
He has exhibited in New York City, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Vermont, Indiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Mississippi, Minnesota, Kansas and Texas.
Michael received his M.A. in Speech Communication from Montclair State University and his B.A. in Media Arts and Sociology (double major) from Jersey City State College. He has taught Public Speaking, Media in a Diverse Society, Introduction to Communication Studies, and Photojournalism at Northern Kentucky University since 2000. Michael retired at the conclusion of the Spring 2023 semester and currently teaches as an adjunct instructor at NKU.