Deconstructing a Junk Pile
Digital Photograph (2009)
This photograph is characteristic of those found in an ongoing series about the experience of the middle class and low income families in America. I employ the techniques of photojournalists combined with my own aesthetic sensitivity to light and the emotional response of the subject matter to the unfolding scene. The tensions that arise from the struggle for success in America are evident in these photographs taken during the current recession.
In reference to the iconic photographs generated during the Great Depression by members of the Farm Securities Administration, I replicate the sense of urgency in the faces of the subjects, yet reveal the denial many people now face in regards to their economic condition. It is not only the experiences of younger generations who cannot find employment in meaningful careers and the middle class who face foreclosure that I wish to capture, but also the images of those who are marginally covered by newspapers and television journalists.
This project is unfolding into a much larger body of work which involves witnessing the condition of Americans in a span of time from the current recession to the next.
© Copyright Stephen Belovarich