This is going to be the personal photography project I'm working on over the next several months, maybe more. As a teacher of photography at my local high school, we've decided as a class to create documentary projects based on aspects of Omaha.
For me, I'm going to be documenting the way different neighborhoods of Omaha have different standards of what's acceptable and what's not. I want to discover some things about the city I've lived in all my life, but haven't really, truly, deeply looked at. I'm going to be looking at how we all "see" the world around us - and what that might mean to how we view the world. What are our hopes and dreams? Can the neighborhoods we live in factor in to how we view our own future?
For most of my life, I lived in the same house near what could be considered "west" Omaha (Omaha has changed so much, I'm not sure what's considered what anymore). My block was normally quiet - my car was broken into a few times, but it was only because my dumb self left my expensive car stereo in there too many times. For the most part, though, it really was a quiet, stereotypical "white" neighborhood. I can remember going to school with one black student as an elementary kid, and really didn't have any black friends until high school.
I remember being young and having a distant relative from Latvia visit us. He couldn't speak a word of English, but my father was intent in showing him Omaha. We drove all around, packed into a little red citation, my father eagerly showing him parts of Omaha I hadn't really experienced.
I remember we went North, near Ames street, and toured the neighborhood there. There, for the first time, I noticed that some of the houses were boarded up. And everyone was black. My father made it a point to tell us all that this was the "bad" part of town. At the time, it seemed to me to be true. I can't remember for sure, but I'm sure our car doors were locked. I didn't have a reference point to what I was seeing. I could understand living near empty houses with "for sale" signs in the lawn. But seeing "DANGER - CLOSED" signs in bright yellow on boarded up doors was something I just didn't have experience with.
Now, many years later, I live and teach near the area I once considered a "bad" part of Omaha. When I was younger I had no idea what socio-economic status was, or what urban decay meant. I only knew that I lived near mostly white neighborhoods with nice houses, and that most black people, at least in Omaha, lived in a much different type of neighborhood.
Needless to say, I didn't get out much, and stayed where I was comfortable.
Now, living in the area I once slightly feared has helped me establish my current world view. It's changed me.
I understand that abandoned homes and decaying neighborhoods have more to do with the socio-economics of the local community than race. But that doesn't let anyone off the hook. In Omaha, Nebraska, the minority neighborhoods are the areas with the most urban decay. From my travels, I'd have to say that it's much the same around the nation.
Yet everyone, most especially white people, simply look away. To be honest, I'm often times the same way.
These apartments are one block away from my house. Entire buildings are boarded up, locked up, and ignored. When I drive by, the uncomfortable feeling in my stomache leads me to focus on the road and "just drive." Noticing - really looking and thinking - would lead me to a crossroads. If you can ignore something, you don't have to deal with it. But focusing on this reality causes some conflicting emotions. Most importantly - "what should I do?"
As a photographer, what I can do, and what I should do - is take photographs. It's not getting my hands dirty, I know. Some might say I'm taking the easy way out. But I do believe in the power of photography. There is power in art - art can be a sort of resistance... a powerful one, not easily ignored. So - this project was born.
I'm going to attempt to photograph things in a different style than I'm used to. I want to let the viewer experience the photographs a bit differently. There will be over-exposed, blurry, out-of-focus shots with screwed-up colors. Doesn't that match this crazy world we're living in? Doesn't that simulate the experience of living in this city with it's thunderous wealth and stunning poverty? Maybe the style I'm going for will turn people off - but I hope it at least makes them think. If it does that, then this project will be a success.
