Penalty Blog 2: Down These Mean Streets: Community And Place In Urban Phototgraphy

'Down These Mean Streets: Community And Place In Urban Photography' is a show held in Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. exhibits different photographs of urban living conditions.  The work of ten different photographers: Manuel Acevedo, Oscar Castillo, Frank Espada, Anthony Hernandez, Perla de Leon, Hiram Maristany, Ruben Ochoa, John Valadez, Winston Vargas, and Camilo José Vergara, is shown.  The title of the show comes from Piri Thomas's autobiography Down These Mean Streets (1967).  The autobiography talks about his personal childhood.  The purpose of the photographs is to bring attention to what is wrong with the living conditions.  The spirit of the people is what brings the pictures to life.

I chose this specific show because I thought that the perspective in which these artist took their photographs to be very insightful.  They didn't look at these neighborhoods through bystander's eyes.  They took the time to really get into the lives of all these different people.  You get an insight on how people lived.  From what children did for fun to what the physical living conditions looked like.  I also chose this exhibition because I am a photographer myself.  Even though this is a very different type of photography from my own personal work, I still find the story that the images tell to be very intriguing.

I liked how the different photographs featured people of all ages, genders, and were in black and white.  The black and white filter creates a very real feeling.  It's as if you yourself could put yourself into that photograph.  These photographs appeal to your emotions in a kind of way where you feel bad for the citizens.  Not necessarily with pity, rather with a feeling of awe because of how the citizens live and how in touch with each other they are.