BuzzFlash Reviews
Unseen America: Photos and Stories by Workers: Special BuzzFlash Value! Clearance.
Edited by Esther Cohen
BUZZFLASH REVIEWS
A dramatic coffee table book of black and white photos, UNSEENAMERICA showcases the work of workers -- workers who happen also to be freshly trained in the art of photography. These amateur photographers have an honest, original story to tell that is typically overlooked. Whether sharing their weary end-of-the-day moments or peaceful family scenes or abstract images representing their hopes and dreams, the people who clean, cook, build, and serve have an artistic vision to share of their rarely documented lives. You'll find it here in UNSEENAMERICA.
The book project evolved out of a union-supported cultural project called Bread & Roses. The nonprofit cultural arm of Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union offered 12 weeks of photo classes and free cameras to immigrant Chinese garment workers, Filipino nannies, day laborers, building workers, and hospital workers, among many others. Over the course of several years, they now have sponsored hundreds of classes and exhibits, and this elegant and eloquent book.
As editor Esther Cohen explains:
"Like the Federal Writers Project, a program of Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration that set out to 'write down America,' unseenamerica shows the strength of this country in its diversity. A strong national culture holds countless different visions--voices of all pitches from the myriad of jobs, experiences, and perspectives that make up our society. Pictures, spontaneous and accessible, capture those visions in unexpected ways."
"Rarely do we stop to talk to a janitor about her ambitions in life, or to ask a doorman his long-held dreams. unseenamerica posed those questions to 'ordinary' immigrant workers and this exhibit documents the extraordinary things they had to say." -- Andrew L. Stern, President, Service Employees International Union
BUZZFLASH REVIEWS