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Even Doormen Like To Dance

By Maria Luisa Tucker, AlterNet. Posted May 9, 2006.


Ever wondered what the janitor does on his day off? A new photography book shows the hidden lives of immigrant workers.
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"There's a whole second part, a second soul to everybody here that nobody seems to know about."
--Samuel Contreras, building maintenance worker, New York City, from "Unseen America."


The timing was coincidental, said Esther Cohen, but miraculous. Unseen America, a book of photography edited by Cohen, was released on Monday just as city centers across the nation filled with demonstrators demanding legalization for undocumented immigrants. The much-heralded Day Without an Immigrant was also the day that scores of immigrant workers celebrated their newfound fame as published photographers.

Fittingly, it is a labor union that is behind the publication of "Unseen America"; unions have been primary supporters of the burgeoning movement for the legalization of undocumented immigrants. Like the immigrant rights' movement, the book has been a long time coming.

Cohen runs Bread and Roses, the nonprofit cultural arm of New York's Health and Human Services Union, which began sponsoring photography classes to workers and union members across the nation several years ago. What resulted were the incredible images of a largely invisible sector of society -- janitors, nurses, doormen, day laborers and clerks' views of the world from an artistic angle. "Unseen America" provides a view of the working class, which invariably includes images of immigrants, legal and illegal, working alongside American-born citizens.

The idea behind the book is simple; it seeks not so much to educate, but rather to expand the nation's view of its low-skilled, largely black and brown work force. It humanizes those who are rarely, if ever, shown as real people in popular culture. While the photos are by and about workers, they show much more than working life. The 200 pages are full of snapshots of relationships between co-workers who are also friends, between nurses and patients, bosses and employees. A number of the images depict day laborers during their nonworking hours -- picnicking at a lake, cooking dinner, serving a drink to the person behind the camera.

Editor Esther Cohen spoke with AlterNet about how the images were produced, and what they mean to the great immigration debate.

Maria Luisa Tucker: How did "Unseen America" come about?

sax-player
"I met Dewey Redman when he came into the store for a prescription. He is a prostate cancer survivor, and he's still performing. I took this picture to express hope."
--Photo by Arthur Deavers, Cashier, Rite-Aid 1199 SEIU, New York City


Esther Cohen: In the '80s we did an exhibit called Images of Labor, and the idea was that we get famous artists to depict what it's like to be a worker in this country. We did an iconic set of posters [with artists including Ralph Fasanella, Sue Coe, Jacob Lawrence and Milton Glaser].

So, 10 years ago when I took over the program, I wanted to figure out a way for workers themselves to tell their own stories, to make them the famous people. I thought it was important to develop the voices of those in society who have very important stories to tell. … I could see that language was a big issue since many people came from other countries, but then a volunteer brought me 100 cameras that were donated by a store in her neighborhood, and we realized that no matter who you are and what culture you come from, you can see. Photography was the perfect medium for us.

MLT: How did you choose which photographs to include in this book?

EC: The photography students curated it. This book represents thousands of people. It was a mammoth task. We've done over 400 classes with about 10 to 20 people, but I would say the classes resulted in thousands and thousands of pictures. At the end of the classes, each group had an exhibit of their work and we asked the classes to choose which photographs to display. They were in a huge variety of places from bus stations to galleries to community centers. The book represents only 21 of the 400 photography classes that were offered by the project.

MLT: Do you think the photographs speak to the issue of illegal immigration?

EC: That's a really tough question, and I don't know that I can answer it. I would say that these pictures in an honest and meaningful way show the pain and joy of living in this society of workers. They show people's complex lives, and they show their lives without irony or an agenda. I was worried at first that the book wouldn't do justice to the project, but people were so happy at the book party. As I was leaving the book party at the Guggenheim, the woman who ran security came up to me and told me that she and her security staff all wanted copies of this book. She said that they had provided security for a ton of events at the Guggenheim and this was the first one they actually related to. That felt really good.

MLT: What percent of the photographers are immigrants? How many are here illegally?

EC: More than 80 percent of the photographers featured in the book are immigrants. I don't know about who is here legally and who is not. When I work with photographers, I ask them what they see, not what their legal status is. It's funny, I was on CNN's Anderson Cooper, and the interviewer asked how I would change the immigration laws and I laughed. There are a lot of laws I would change if I could, but unfortunately I don't have that power.

MLT: Why are some of the photographers anonymous?

what-i-planted
"With each picture I feel like a gardener. When you take the film, each roll is like a seed and when you see your creation, it is a flower."
--Anonymous photographer, The Workplace Project, Long Island, N.Y.


EC: The migrant workers asked to be anonymous. They were the first group we did this project with. They were these guys doing mostly construction work in Long Island, standing by the side of the road. We wanted to work with them because their lives are never explored much, and also they were the subject of a lot of racism in the area they were living in.

During the photography class, we had a half a day of conversation about depiction -- is it good, is it bad? They were worried that the exhibit would jeopardize their relationship with the community. In the end, they decided to go ahead with the exhibit as long as those photographers who wanted to remain anonymous could do so. One of the day laborers actually became a professional photographer.

MLT: There has been a lot of debate over whether undocumented workers depress wages and increase unemployment for American citizens in low-skill jobs, particularly black Americans. I was wondering if, during this project, there has been any tension between illegal immigrants and workers who are citizens?

EC: I would say that when people come together to take this class, the room doesn't divide into people who are here legally or illegally. There hasn't been one form of dialogue -- it's not just about being legal or illegal. People have shared their work experiences, child rearing ideas, notions of life. I think it's silly to think about life in single-issue terms.

"Unseen America" is an ongoing project of Bread and Roses.

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Maria Luisa Tucker is an AlterNet staff writer.

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Could this backfire?
Posted by: medstudgeek on May 9, 2006 5:13 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm actually interested in this book (and yes, I'm in favor of curtailing immigration--less workers -> labor shortage -> higher wages!). Seems like the only people allowed to have artistic lives in the mass media are guys with Harvard degrees who work in Manhattan. I'm sorry, I forgot chick lit. Now we can read about women with Harvard degrees who work in Manhattan! Woohoo.

My only worry is that Rush Limbaugh will find out about it. "See how lazy these immigrants are! They're playing the saxophone instead of working!" Blah blah blah... The arts are not held in high esteem in this country, as I'm sure many of us have noticed.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Could this backfire? Posted by: squattyroo
» RE: Could this backfire? Posted by: Baranga
» RE: Could this backfire? Posted by: squattyroo
Connecting the dots
Posted by: JPHickey on May 9, 2006 5:44 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Maria Luisa Tucker is making a living by blurring the definition of illegal alien until it supposidly becomes synonymous with legal and legitimate naturalized citizens also known as immigrants. I might be wondering whether Ms. Tucker was an illegal alien herself, masquerading as a writer for AlterNet. However, after I'd managed to connect a few more dots, I realized that she is indirectly employed by the Bank of America which supports the Chamber of Commerce lobby with its extravagant spending to keep the borders wide open to let in as much cheap labor as possible.

AlterNet gets funding through MBNA which is part of Bank of America. http://www.bankofamerica.com/

On that page you'll find a link to details of the MBNA/Bank of America merger. So I hope this helps explain Ms. Tucker's bias as well as that of Alternet. She knows which side her bread is buttered on!

Greed pervades the left and the right, so where does that leave the people? You might find "Chicago & the Hostile Takeover of American Democracy" interesting, and you might wonder why David Sirota's writing isn't featured on AlterNet. http://davidsirota.com/index.php/the-hostile-takeover-of-american-democracy/

Publishers have more power today than ever before in the history of the United States. And they increasingly place their personal and business advantages over, above, and beyond seeking and presenting the truth. Unfortunately, AlterNet is as sold-out as most of the others are! For shame!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Connecting the dots Posted by: MyLeftFoot
Chill. Now.
Posted by: LynnZTV on May 9, 2006 8:01 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Please--which side of the rock did you folks crawl out from under? First, the idea of showing another side of immigrant life is a wonderful idea, because it gives another dimension to people who are normally invisible, or seen as "the help."
Second, lambasting a writer for DOING HER JOB (and doing it well!) at AlterNet is pointless, rude and completely unfair.
If you don't want to look at those great photographs in Unseen America, THEN DON'T. That says much more about you than your words ever will. If you don't want to read this writer's interviews, then find a site that offers work that only addresses your point of view. That way, you don't have to risk curing that "vision problem" you so clearly have.

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I love these collections.
Posted by: YogiBear on May 9, 2006 9:44 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have several of the sort. Alas, I'm too poor these days to afford it. I imagine most of those photographed are too poor also.

I'd like to see the amnesty come about. It's the humane option. But you know, if we do it, and don't really try to restrict future border crossings and visa overstays, then we'll be doing ourselves a bad turn -- and doing the newly legalized a bad turn also. Because the new immigrants will either leave their old jobs and compete with the rest of the working class for their jobs, or they'll try to stay in their old jobs. But will they be wanted in those jobs as legal citizens with rights, I wonder? Maybe not -- especially if more people come here illegally to fill those slots. They could end up going from being American workers without rights to free Americans without jobs.

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'Hidden lives of immigrant workers'?
Posted by: chasaturn on May 9, 2006 9:53 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Sounds like daytime TV. Coffeetable book for Republican households... What's next? (...and thanks to Frank Zappa) "Manuel, the gardener, placed his throbbing phallus...".
MEANWHILE, another Nazi is appointed to a position of power in our government - but, ignore that - the IMPORTANT thing is... immigrants like to dance. Golly.

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» We want bread...and roses too. Posted by: medstudgeek
"Ever wondered what the janitor does on his day off?"
Posted by: fairleft on May 9, 2006 2:31 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
They're lucky to have days off.

The unemployed US citizen who used to be the janitor wishes he (or she) had their job back, with good union wages and a health care benefit. As we all know, a flood of illegal labor willing to work dirt cheap makes it very hard to get the bargaining power needed to organize.

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wow
Posted by: jeniferc1105 on May 10, 2006 12:59 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is so amazing; in class we were just talking about what is an American Dream? We were saying its not super hero, but it just depends on what kind of angle are you looking at. Also, I always wonder, those hard workers, why aren't they rich. Don’t they work as hard as anyone else? Just by taking those picture already has a million words to say. What a person express and show it on a picture has so many meaning. That’s probably why so many people agree and can relate to that book. It’s an image what you don’t see often on the media but you see it everyday and that’s what gets a person speechless. With the emotion being envovled and being record, I don’t know what else to say. But it’s saying enough to grab my attention

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