Through Our Eyes

July 24, 2016 2:38 PM

Through Our Eyes gave disposable cameras to 100 homeless people in Spartanburg, South Carolina and asked them to take pictures of their lives.
posted by holyrood (10 comments total)

A bunch of really great shots in there.
posted by klangklangston at 2:48 PM on July 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

I really enjoyed the stories people told about their photos. Thanks for posting this!
posted by jilloftrades at 4:34 PM on July 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yeah that was my thinking, klangklangston. There are some really good framings. I thought perhaps it was the person behind the project doing some of that by cutting and purposing the photos, but then I saw other photos that weren't as well framed. So yeah. It's a shame, really.

As a dirty rotten commie, this is sort of a testament to how much talent people have that goes to waste/lays hidden because our economy focuses on capital accumulation as opposed to talent exposition.

This... This shows the opposite. There is CLEAR talent in terms of composition. But because, for whatever reason (class, health, circumstance, etc...) these people don't have the "hustle" that allows them to make a buck (I know some people who are making a few extra bucks off their work whose ability to compose a photo isn't as good as some of these), we see them being homeless, while the person whose framing isn't as good ends up being able to buy a low-cost housing (trailer). Now, granted, a trailer isn't considered a mansion, but it's still... something.

So why is that? Why should someone have the right to this housing housing while someone else struggles just to have a bare minimum of existence and beg for what they need? Perhaps there are other factors. I don't know.

But godDAMN if this isn't an indictment of the idea that talents are fully utilized to the best of their capacity under capitalism. Clearly, they aren't.
posted by symbioid at 4:37 PM on July 24, 2016 [14 favorites]

The description in the first link:

Tasked with capturing “what matters most to them"

adds depth and poignancy to the images in the second.
posted by hilaryjade at 5:11 PM on July 24, 2016

I am glad others are seeing the good things here (first FPP nerves!). I want to try this here in my town, but dont have a way to display the results.
posted by holyrood at 5:33 PM on July 24, 2016 [6 favorites]

Thanks for Posting The Thing, it's great!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:02 PM on July 24, 2016

See also the Hope in Shadows project in Vancouver. They've been my annual calendar purchase for over a decade now.
posted by mannequito at 8:38 PM on July 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

This is amazing.
posted by MissySedai at 10:10 PM on July 24, 2016

"[...]this is sort of a testament to how much talent people have that goes to waste/lays hidden because our economy focuses on capital accumulation as opposed to talent exposition."

Amen.
posted by MexicanYenta at 12:10 AM on July 25, 2016

I am glad others are seeing the good things here (first FPP nerves!). I want to try this here in my town, but dont have a way to display the results.

Tumblr or something like it? I bet it's possible you'd be able to help fund the camera/development purchase by some local group (local unitarian church perhaps).

Good post!
posted by el io at 7:09 AM on July 25, 2016