Images speak louder than words
July 1, 2019 | Source: Monroe Gallery of Photography
© Steve Schapiro: I'm Still Aliveâ, Chicago, 2017
Via The Albuquerque Journal
By Kathaleen Roberts / Journal Staff Writer
Sunday, June 30, 2019
âLiving in Historyâ aims to correct that misconception while the press is under continued attack.
Opening on Friday, July 5, the exhibition showcases images documenting subjects and events from the 21st century, including the Occupy Wall Street protests, the Black Lives Matter protests, the Syrian refugee crisis and the U.S.-Mexican border immigration and refugee crisis, among others
âThis profession is alive and well, although itâs under tremendous duress,â Michelle Monroe, co-owner of the Santa Fe gallery, said.
The effect of the constellation of platforms available across the internet, social media and cellphones within the past 30 years has diluted and scattered both information and images that used to be concentrated in newspapers and Life magazine, she said.
âThereâs material from the Arab Spring; thereâs material about the surveillance state post-9/11,â she added.
The prone Chicago protester in Steve Schapiroâs âIâm Still Aliveâ photo wears a T-shirt encapsulating the Black Lives Matter protests roiling across the U.S. in reaction to the Ferguson, Mo., police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
âHeâs making the statement that they have survived, that they are forces to be reckoned with,â Monroe said.
Nina Bermanâs âAftermathâ shows 2016 Uranium Remembrance Day in Church Rock. Residents of Navajo communities were calling for an end to uranium mining. One of the largest nuclear catastrophes in U.S. history occurred in 1979 when the dam at the site broke, discharging more than 1,000 tons of solid radioactive mill waste and 93 million gallons of radioactive tailings solution into the Rio Puerco. Mining on Navajo land ended, but calls to revive it continue. Residents march to honor all those who died and were sickened by uranium mining and to demand a thorough cleanup and compensation.
Robert Wilsonâs 2018 photo of religious leaders being arrested near San Diego for protesting President Donald Trumpâs immigration policies sums up the issue in a single frame.
âTheyâre leaders from all faiths,â Monroe said. âHe was traveling with the caravans through Mexico. In order to get these shots, (itâs) what people are compelled to do.â
Ashley Gilbertsonâs 2015 photo of Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugees leaping from a raft near Scala on the island Lesvos, Greece, captures the desperation of the immigrants in the choppy Agean Sea. The exodus of refugees from Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East to Europe of more than 1 million people represents the largest movement of people since World War II.
Whitney Curtis caught police officers in riot gear confronting a man with raised hands during a Ferguson protest.
âFor us, it looks like a Goyaâ painting, Monroe said. âBut it really looks like the younger generation of civil rights photographers.â
The show features images surveying the past 20 years through the lenses of eight photojournalists.
âItâs a very difficult show,â Monroe said. âThe last 19 years have been pretty rough.â
People âleave crying, but they love it.â
If you go
WHAT: âLiving in Historyâ
WHEN: Reception 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 5. Through Sept. 22.
WHERE: Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe
HOW MUCH: Free at monroegallery.com, 505-992-0800