Two Photographers With A Message

Photo: Dana Lixenberg

Many moons ago while talking photography with an African American friend, we got to discussing the ethics of photographing the down and out- something I continue to consider, reconsider and reevaluate to this very day. I was considerably more hard edge back then- hell, people get themselves into the positions they're in, they make their own choices in life, blah blah, blah... had it all figured out. 

My friend countered with- "Why would you want to take a photo of a brother when he's down, ain't there enough of that already out there?" At the time I took it as if he wanted to ignore and sugar coat the reality of life- as opposed to "look it in the eye and show the truth no matter what" me. But with growing maturity, I began to see the strengths of his argument, and the arrogance and ignorance of my own. Although Hispanic, I did not grow up in the inner city the majority of my life- and although about as low as lower middle class can possibly get, still enough to come from a place of relative privilege.

For a long time running, there has been a certain "reality" that has been readily depicted and accepted: inner cities = minorities = drugs = crime = violence, etc, etc... And that's the kind of limited equation that formulates prevalent, racist mind sets that readily dismiss "those people" as... "animals." And it's a damn easy way to (not) think, as someone looking from the outside in.

I'm not going to go into all the reasons why poverty, crime and inner cities exist and intertwine as they do- not going to go into why: red lining, sub prime loans, food deserts, racial profiling, inadequate health care, schools and housing all go into creating these nightmares long before people are even born to make their (already purposely limited and predetermined) choices. I've done that elsewhere, as I've also made the case for personal responsibility- and it's not a particularly easy line to draw, one requiring generous applications of both hemispheres.

What I am saying, what I think my friend was saying- is that there is also a need for a certain degree of balance. The evils inherent to inner city life have now been laid apparent to those who have never even set foot, from: Eugene Richards, to The Wire, to the daily news which tend to make them pretty damn evident. But to the day, we're never quite equally furnished with the: images, modus operandi and perp walks of the White collar criminals who help create and finance those illegal activities from top down.

So yeah, hats off to a coupla (White) photographers who didn't fall for the immediate stereotypical "gritty, real life" photos of drugs, guns and crime, that faux and envied notion of earning themselves their requisite notch of perceived hardcore photo, street cred. These two photographers ditched the obvious to put in the time, maturity and effort to come up with something much more grand, balanced and nuanced- something that speaks to the complexities of life itself, regardless the time, place or people...  Such is the work of Dana Lixenberg and Matt Eich. The former's unpretentious, slice of life portraits hearken back to August Sanders monumental celebration of those not accustomed to such attention, while Matt Eich  presents us with intimate moments of the everyday, both big and small...

Photo: Matt Eich