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On The Streets
This experimental DSLR-created movie of animated still photographs is a byproduct of my work with time lapse photography. Using an EOS 10D and a 4×5 Super Graphic to rephotograph my black and white photographs, the first thematically related group of pictures I reached for were these images of people living on the streets of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Some are homeless, some sleep in shelters. Some exhibit advanced stages of AIDS, some are mentally ill. An overall sense of destitution pervades most of these people’s lives. I’m told the situation has improved dramatically over the past few decades, yet there continues to be widespread heroin and alcohol abuse. Bowery’s booming real estate market and entertainment scene are slowly pushing these folks out of the neighborhood. A towering museum was just completed on Bowery, the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Hanging from the front of the museum, a large rainbow-colored sign that reads “Hell, Yes!” hovers in stark contrast to the daily queue of men a few doors down outside the Bowery Mission waiting to be let in for a free meal.
“On The Streets” (duration 3:24)
Photographs: Cary Conover
Website: www.caryconover.com
Bob, thank you for saying that and for continuing to try to open eyes of people around you. There is something I learned from you and I am very grateful – not to judge anybody, especially when there is a clear reason to praise the person for some aspect of his self expression. We are all so different, but common in one egoistic wish – to be right. Still there are no rights or wrongs especially in such a multidimensional discipline as photography, or just life. I recently noticed several of similar discussions – about the place of the photographer about his responsibilities towards the subject, involvement. And I agree with Katia and Erica,getting close, empathy, probably works for them. Still there is a street or snap photography which is a completely different discipline, its purpose is different, it requires different qualities, i.e. I will risk to claim, a much better reaction to start with. Cary is an excellent street photographer. I was profoundly impressed by his singles (and personally I think they are stronger than this essay in its whole).
But it looks like street photography is detested among many or at least undervalued, an I think the reason for that lies in the fact that photography becomes more and more commercial. Results that can be USED are required. Nobody is interested in photographer’s musing on the subject, neither his artistic self-expression or, which is opposite – depicting the life as he sees it.
This essay consists of thematically uniform street singles. It is executed extremely well, though by no means it is a documentary story.
I think this essay is effective exactly because of the repetition. The images are hammered home, person upon person, by the way they are presented. That these people are pervasive and real. The scope and consequence of the issue becomes tactile. My response is to look a little deeper into homelessness where I live. It isn’t obvious, here. But I’m certain it exists. The essay wouldn’t have made the same impact had the subjects been looking into the camera, or sitting on a street corner panhandling. What kind of images do you think would have made the presentation stronger? How would you have shot it?
Actually, Jim..
U might have a point there..
Repetition is a “style” itself..
Hmmmm..
thinking…
Bravo Cary. Knowing intimately the tremendous body of work from which this was culled, if anyone has any doubt to who or what Cary is about, I encourage you to investigate. He is prolific.
With all due respect and without doubt about Cary’s abilities, but isn’t the conversation above is the investigation. It can’t get any better than this, don’t you think?
Patrick – just looked at your works – WMD is great.
Cheers,
Haik
I look at Cary’s essay, and my reaction is: wow! what a beautiful piece of work! I go to Cary’s website to discover more of it. happy to see the images!
im searching for other feelings, and realizing that the images also bring confusion and ambiguity. i feel that im in the “old movie theatre”. I could almost hear a ballroom pianist to accompany this movie about “old America”.
Im separated from what is happening on the screen. the images there are real and they are not. im thinking: this is not ‘now’, or may be all of this is made up? just like Goddard’s movies remind us.
sometime i have similar reaction when i look at the magazines, abundant with images of suffering in Other countries, rarely in ours. I always sympathize to subjects of these pictures, but there is however a reaction: ‘oh, it’s far away, it’s not here”.
Being an art photographer myself and often being torn between wanting to do “realistic / ‘documentary” work and despite that continuing to produce my own esthetics, stylisations. inner torments’ i call them. it would be incredibly naive to think that photographers’ mission is to change the world. but Im often debating why is that i need this separation? or is It? or why do we as a society prefer to look at suffering from the distance?
My comments also, by all means, is not a judgement of Cary’s work, I still love your essay, Cary!
it’s rather an open question to those who wishes to express their thoughts.
Cary: Thank you so much for sharing your work. : )
Here follow a few thoughts based on the comments on here but not the presentation which I really, really want to see but can’t at the moment with the software I have, or access to.
Re: Effort
(inspired by Bob Black’s comment, thanks)
I’m coming to this ‘blind’ but can’t agree that ‘effort’ necessarily reveals ‘concern.’ How do you quantify effort anyway? Effort can be like an iceberg – most of it ‘invisible’ if it has taken place internally. On the other hand, it could be that an author just wants to ‘be seen’ or ‘sell’ work by packaging it in a new way to engage an audience. I also think the comment about personal involvement being for ‘credibility’s sake’ is not a nice one, although it might be right in some cases.
I really don’t know enough about world religions to make this statement but: ‘I think I’d rather be Hindu!’ because it fits with me to have ‘the centre’ in a billion different Gods and is the root of Buddhism which I like, but I like ‘roots and the natural world’ more. Where would Buddha be without the web of life that supports our species and all species come to that? On the other hand, I’ve come to realize that my habits do not match those taught by the Prophet Mohammad which could help cos I’m not good at taking care of my health and the Koran has some very good ideas on that front. The Bible has some great things to say too as I suspect all religions do.
Re. Storytelling/presentation
(inspired by many comments on here, mostly Jon Vink, thanks)
Conventional ways of storytelling don’t fit with most of I’m doing in my work as I’m capturing ‘moment’s, feelings and cultural differences’ at this point so I have a feeling Cary’s ‘moment’ or ‘street’ photography is along the same lines and it sounds like the presentation fits with this really well, ‘completes’ the work and makes it ‘feel’ whole.
Re: Poverty Porn
(inspired by comment from Lisa Hogben, thanks)
Perhaps it’s already got a definition but how about ‘photographs that use misery to sell or promote causes’? I am searching for another way that protects the dignity of the individual. Millions around the world are suffering and it’s difficult to do much about the habits, customs and local and global systems that perpetuate it including the outlook of some of the worlds NGOs it seems to me. But having said this, I think that ‘the intention’ to help behind the taking of ‘poverty porn’ can often be THE most beautiful and pure.
Re: Treatment and Judging
(inspired by all, thanks)
When it comes to ‘treatment’, there could be many reasons for not showing the faces of the people. It could be seen as a way to ‘protect the integrity’ of the people or ‘an honest sharing’ of a response to seeing people living and dying this way, a ‘fear of it happening to them’ or, and this is my take on it having read Cary’s words but not knowing his intention or seeing the essay: ‘a reflection of a cultural response to homelessness’. It could even be a reflection of an author’s own feelings of ‘being invisible.’ Not directly questioning the author could also be read as ‘not caring about the author’ or as a way of ‘protecting’ them form questions that he or she may not want to answer, directly, or publicly. I don’t know and I should not judge others because I don’t like being judged myself. I’ve done more than my fair share of judging already… I AM sorry.
Re: The Smile
(inspired by all photojournalists, thanks)
I have a story I’d like to share about a young man living on the streets of Mumbai. We don’t know each other’s names and who knows if we’ll meet again. What once were legs are wrapped up beneath him on a rectangular piece of wood on four wheels. He propels himself along the ground with his hands and lives on food that is given to him by ‘direct assistance’. He has nothing but the clothes he wears and each evening, wraps his shirt up in a ball and puts it under his head as a pillow. He sleeps right there on a bare wooden market stall. What I notice more than anything is his smile.
THAT smile radiates an incredible amount of joy, peace and happiness. And there’s dignity in his handshake as well, and in the way he speaks. I’ve watched him from a distance and see that THE SMILE is often there no matter who passes by or as he chats with his friends and people on the street. I suspect it reflects his acceptance of his lot AND the reactions of the people around him. He looks happy to be in control of his day and contented to be his own boss. It’s not a smile I’ve seen on any faces when working the 9-5 but we all like some of the trappings of wealth. Shoes for example…
I’d like to spend more time near anyone with that kind of smile… whether they are educating and informing people around the world or just lighting up the moments of people that pass them by but it’s rare, that kind of smile… it looks to me like he’s doing an incredible ‘job’ filling people near him with ‘love and light’ and obviously doesn’t get the minimum wage or government assistance. Who knows where he comes from or where he’s going to? What was Buddha’s background, can anyone remember? I used to know…
THAT smile looks to me like a flag waving on the top of ‘an iceberg of personal work’ as high as a mountain. I have no idea of the internal torture he may have endured along the way to THE SMILE. Perhaps I’ll ask him if I meet him again. But it is obvious he made it to the top against the odds. He’s up there waving a flag with that smile. I don’t know if I’ll get to see THE SMILE again or not. The thing about the smile is that it’s so beautiful, you want to ‘capture it’ and perhaps that would take away what the smile is built on. If I see him again, perhaps I’ll take a single image and under his name, write THE SMILE. Would that be commoditizing it? It’s the kind of smile that helps us reach the top of mountains. None of us get there alone, though we try if we don’t want to encourage nepotism… and I wonder, if we were ever to get there, would it be lonely up so high? I guess that depends on who your friends are and how big their hugs and SMILES…
Re: Reflecting Cultural Attitudes and the Whole
(inspired by the comments on here and personal feelings)
To my way of thinking, ‘not getting too close’ combined with ‘faceless people’ and a ‘camera angle’ from on-top reflects well a cultural attitude to homelessness that is not present in all cultures around the world. In some, people see ‘homelessness’ in a different way, give freely ‘on the level’ to those who live that way whether by necessity or choice. Some even ‘elevate it’ as a fast-track to enlightenment – a way to feel ‘the highs and lows’ more intensely and learn how to ‘navigate life’ and simply ‘be’. The highs are the smiles and they are there and a level of acceptance that can radiate pure sunshine…
Sorry to go on so long…
: ): ): ): ): ): ): ): ): ): ): ): )
(smiles for DAH and this magazine!)
Dear Cary,
This movie(especially the contrast of general people and homeless)makes me being stunned into silence…I feel fear… and think of my duty as member of society…
Thank you for your perception and hard work.
good movie. I struggle with the idea of secretly photographing homeless people for artistic endeavours and generally don’t enjoy watching it. I can see another point of view though, may be without your clever presentation these images wouldn’t be shown at all and so you wouldn’t be on Burn and people wouldn’t be viewing it. so because you have done such a good job you’ve created a bigger audience and the more people that see it the more chance that some one will reach out and help these individuals. It’s a long shot, but you never know, this may convince a bourgeois photography/art fan to stop and help.
richard