Blog Post: Sophia Kokores

Having almost completed a project for Jim’s course at USC and having read through the articles on this website and required reading for this class, I have realized two things: photographic empowerment makes you hyper-aware of your surroundings and without it we may not be aware of our surroundings at all or at least of what differentiates our surroundings from someone else’s. I do agree that children (especially underprivileged children) need a voice in a society that often doesn’t give them one. Participant-produced photography not only gives them a voice, but a sense of confidence and perhaps self-worth too. It allows them to reflect on their communities and put forth their own perspectives.

Personally, I have been working on shooting graffiti artists and their works around the East LA and Venice Beach areas. While I was aware that graffiti is found in LA, I did not realize the extent to which it is integrated into the culture of LA. It is everywhere, and it’s not just vandalism on a wall, it’s a form of art that expresses one’s anger, happiness, obstacles, achievements, social circle, and artistic ability. It’s actually quite meaningful to the diverse culture of LA. Having said that, if I had not done this project, I would not have realized this. I would have gone on viewing graffiti like any other passerby, with only slight recognition and complete desensitization. For me, participant-produced photography has made me more hyper-aware, when I otherwise wouldn’t have been.

This is not to say that this is the same case for all children around the world involved in participant-produced projects. But if it were, it would make me wonder about the possible negative side affects. If you give an underprivileged child a camera wouldn’t it make him realize the differences between his world and the other world? Wouldn’t it make him realize how underprivileged he really is? It probably would, and not that this is a bad thing, but then what? After he documents his perspective on his world, what help/support does he receive? Is there anyone or any way he could improve his world or simply get out of it by taking photographs? Is visual communication enough? More often than not, participant photography produces images of real issues that should and must be dealt with. So how do supplement the photography with actual help?

These are difficult questions to answer, and without a doubt participant photography is the first step. It exposes an issue from a different and perhaps more accurate perspective. But I wonder about what happens next.

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