Phillips MPLS: Youth Reflections of their own Community
Tuesday 21 October @ 16:57:55 |
 by Mary Ann Vincenta
Waite House Community Center (at 26th Street and 13th Avenue South) is a fabulous place, according to 12-year-old twins Zonita and Zorita and their friend Vanessa. They get help with their homework, participate in sports and hang out with fun kids.
On top of all that, this past summer they got to take pictures of their neighborhood as part of a Phillips Neighborhood photography project for 7th to 9th graders headed by Julie Graves, the Youth Arts and Academic Coordinator at Waite House and a photographer herself.
Forty photos now grace the walls at the Babylon Art and Cultural Center. The images, genuine and unpretentious, exude a profound simplicity, nailing what matters (M DASH) imagination, love, beauty, connectedness. They represent a neighborhood brimming with people who’ve landed there from all over the world. The subjects’ eyes are bright and alive. There’s a lot to ponder, much to celebrate.
Some of the photos are portraits of individuals, usually posed (but never phony.) (But nevertheless natural.) “Friendly Neighbor” and “Mohammed,” stand on the sidewalk, and “Smoking Guy,” rugged, thoughtful and at ease, sits on a stone retainer wall.
The deeply felt ties of friends and family are shown in “The Story of Best Friends,”and “Brother Sister Bond.” Action shots of girls jumping rope, “Dubby Dutch,” and hanging from the monkey bars, “Friends Hanging Out,” explode with youthful energy and happiness. “Cutie on the Bus,” “Jelly Roll” and “Ballerina” encapsulate the unfathomable innocence of babies and small children. “Middle of Nowhere” and “The Escape” suggest a story. “Two Faces on Franklin” becomes a riddle as the viewer searches for the second face. Once seen, the photo documents the juxtaposition of images that proliferate contemporary life.
Graves said photos in the show are not attributed to individual photographers because in general the kids worked together, consulting each other about angles, subject matter, composition, etc.
Zorita, Zonita and Vanessa said they planned their photos carefully. At first they didn’t know how to frame what they were aiming at but after a little help they caught on. The etiquette of asking a subject’s permission impressed them. They loved clicking away in their neighborhood, and, amazed at how much they learned, hope to do the project again.
It was breathtaking to see the kids arrive at the opening. They poured into the gallery, excited to see their photos on the walls, proud of their work and proud, maybe without knowing it, (that not only did they document their neighborhood but helped to create it as well.) (of the neighborhood their work helps create. )
Photos are on sale for $45 each.
Through Nov. 5. Gallery hours are Tue. - Thu. 4 - 9 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 12 - 5 p.m; Closed Sun. & Mon. Call for appointment. Babylon Art and Cultural Center, 1624 E. Lake St., 612-722-5438.
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