Mountain View is a whole new place when seen through the eyes of six teenage photographers who call "The View" home.
Formulated in 1992 at the University of London, "PhotoVoice" is a creative process that melds grassroots social justice efforts with documentary photography. It matches professional activists and photographers with members of marginalized communities. The goal is to challenge preconceptions by representing such communities from within through unflinching yet dignified exhibitions of photographs and corresponding written narratives.
PhotoVoice projects have documented the lives of women in Yunnan Province, China; homeless adults in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Pakistani immigrants in London; and health workers in rural South Africa.
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ARTISTS' NARRATIVES:
Denisha Crowe on her project out-takes.
Megan Johnson on her project out-takes.
-- "Slum Lords," by Denisha Crowe -- "The View" and "Tire Marks," by Denisha Crowe -- "Housing Transience," by Crystal Luddington -- "Stereotypes," by Crystal Luddington -- "Art," by Chester Matai -- "Grief," by Chester Matai -- "Lonely," by Chester Matai -- "The Chair," by Edward Washington II -- "A Cry for Help," by Edward Washington II -- Two narratives by Megan Johnson -- "Our Culture," by Autumn Meloy -- "Bus Steps," by Autumn Meloy -- "Labels!," by Autumn Meloy |
This summer, fliers with "PhotoVoice" in graffiti script appeared in the Mountain View neighborhood promoting "...a form of community based participatory research that uses photography to share & show how the youth of Mt. View see their community."
Anchorage United For Youth, a United Way initiative, sponsored the project, which was organized by photographer Oscar Avellaneda and community organizer Laura Diane Norton-Cruz.
Six teenagers from "The View" signed up: Denisha Crowe, Megan Johnson, Crystal Luddington, Chester Matai, Autumn Meloy, and Edward Washington II.
The program began in early August with Avellaneda showing the participants examples of recent PhotoVoice projects, including "The Fifty Four," in which East Bay Area resident Richard Hernandez gave himself 54 days to shoot 54 images during his daily commute on the 54 bus through Oakland.
"The idea was to get them looking beyond typical family photos toward images that showed more depth, not just aesthetically, but also in terms of content," Avellaneda said. "Next we gave them some basics in composition, point of view, and being aware of lighting. Then we just let them do their thing."
Eventually, the contributors each had to choose just three images from the dozens they shot.
"We told them they could only have three each in the final exhibit. We said, 'Choose one that stands out to on a purely aesthetic basis. Choose another that represents a scene or issue that affects your personally on a deep level. And pick one more that you feel combines both those criteria," Avellaneda said. "Naturally, some of them were quite frustrated with the process of limiting their work to three images, but in the end they recognized the value of the hard edit, because it made for a stronger show."
The final result opened Friday, Dec. 4 at Kaladi Brothers Coffee downtown, with each student positioned by their portion of the exhibit, discussing their photos and writings with a diverse First Friday crowd.
"The six young artists spoke about depression, neighborhood stereotypes, alcoholism, and self-confidence," says Norton-Cruz. "They spoke to artists, parents, teachers, social service providers, Native corporation administrators, legislators, and assembly members."
The images and narratives of Mountain View PhotoVoice balance the negativity of gang activity and slum lords against a powerful, even defiant, sense of cultural identity and neighborhood pride.
"The biggest misconception about Mountain View is that the residents are poor, uneducated, and disrespectful," Denisha Crowe wrote in an essay the week after the First Friday opening. "Throughout my whole time in this neighborhood I have never been disrespected nor have disrespected any of my community. I have never agreed with what the newspapers and television said about Mountain View; I have always felt it came from people who know nothing about my community. I believe Mountain View residents haven't yet been given the opportunity to defend themselves and their community and let people know the stereotype they're comfortable with isn't a correct one."
The Mountain View PhotoVoice exhibit runs through the end of December at the Kaladi Brothers Coffee downtown location, 621 West 6th Ave.