Christian K. Lee’s portraits of Black people with guns are a bit startling, if only because it is rare to see images of real guns, presented without a negative spin, at a serious art institution like the Colorado Photographic Arts Center.

But Lee’s show does come with context. First, he is a military veteran, and CPAC has worked closely with vets since 2017, offering an annual, free workshop that includes six months of serious photo-taking instruction, along with the technical know-how to produce a portfolio or even to start a professional picture-taking career. Along with that, the center has regularly given this particular group a place on its exhibition walls.

Columnist Ray Mark Rinaldi is right when he says that it's rare to see images of real guns presented without a negative context at a serious art institution, but that's part of the problem that Lee is confronting. Yes, his focus is on Black gun ownership, but I'd argue that simply portraying gun owners of any race as normal is a fairly subversive idea in the art world. 

"Armed Doesn't Mean Dangerous" is the title of Lee's collection, and that's certainly a true statement, no matter what group of gun owners we're talking about. 

As the title implies, his subjects maintain their weapons legally and reasonably, using them for “sport, hobby and protection,” as he puts it. They are, to place it in the current cultural parlance, ordinary Americans, exercising their Second Amendment rights.

But — and this is the artist’s point — it’s also within the context of an America that often shows Black people with guns in a negative light. That did not make sense to King, who grew up around guns and was the steward of his own weapons in the military.

Lee’s father was a Chicago-area police officer, so guns were a normal part of his life. “I always saw him have a gun and I knew other people like my father existed in my community,” Lee said.

“So, why do I only see them on TV when it’s a crime?” he recalled asking himself. And so his artistic project began.

If art is supposed to evoke an emotional response, I wonder what the most common feeling is among the lefties in Denver who happen to check out Lee's exhibit. Is it loathing? Pride? Confusion? Personally, seeing Lee's photographs puts a smile on my face; not only because he's challenging the typical liberal point of view on gun ownership, but also just because it's great to see families that have embraced their right to keep and bear arms. 

His photographs all take place at the residences of his subjects, so he has to build trust, and that requires time. The picture-taking part — setting up equipment, finding the correct positions — can take hours.

But the results are pointed, and they feel up close and personal.

For example, the 2021 photograph titled simply, “Trelle and his family, Killeen, TX,” shows what appears to be a family of four — father, mother and two sons — standing under the shade of an oak tree on their front lawn. The photo has two personalities. On one hand, it shows their closeness, the mother embraces the father, everyone stands very close together.

But on the other, the two sons are brandishing pistols that they seem to be very comfortable handling. There are undercurrents of both expressing constitutional rights, and an ability to self-protect should the need arise. It’s both a warm and edgy scene at the same time.

There are similar dualities in photos such as “Aaron Banks Jr and Sr, Cedar Park, TX,” which captures a father and son, dressed in matching T-shirts and denim shorts, embracing each other — and a very conspicuous rifle.

There is a related vibe in the work “Pastor Andrew Long and Trina’ Duncan, Killeen, TX.” The 2021 photo shows a man and woman standing before a concrete block wall. She is holding a pistol, and he has an automatic rifle and a T-shirt that reads “All gun control is racist.” There is a human connection in the scene, but also a large dose of the sort of personal politics that are frequently part of the social discourse these days.

So far, Lee has made about 30 portraits for the series, and he is not done. “This is a forever thing. Because everything that I choose to work on is a forever project,” he said.

I'm pleased that Lee plans on continuing this project going forward. Even if he chooses to document one particular gun-owning demographic he'll have no shortage of subjects in the future, and he might even open some eyes and change some minds when it comes to our right to keep and bear arms. If nothing else he's provided a powerful reminder of the importance of our Second Amendment rights in a state that's increasingly hostile to them. Many of the guns held by Lee's subjects would be banned under the semi-auto ban making its way through the state legislature, and both the title and spirit of Lee's exhibition is a direct rebuke to the anti-2A attitude so prevalent in Denver these days.