Analysis of Camilo Jose Vergaras Award-Winning: The New American Ghetto - Case Study Example

Vivek Shivram Client, Academia-Research.com Essay 27th March, 2007 A STUDY OF CAMILO JOSE VERGARA’S AWARD-WINNING “The New American Ghetto” Introduction They say a photo speaks a thousand words. If that is true, then Camilo Jose Vergara’s wonderful photographs of an entirely different America in his famous collection of photographs “The New American Ghetto” are loud enough to leave anyone dumbstruck. In his very famous collection of Photographs that travels across the entire length of America, Vergara has succeeded in showing the world the face of a different America – consistent with stark urban poverty. A Ghetto, as the online Wikipedia.org encyclopedia defines, is “an area where people from a specific racial or ethnic background are united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion.”1 In this essay, we shall closely study the life and works of the great photographer, whose pictures have brought to light a completely different status of American society, with special emphasis on his award winning collection of ghettos captured in his photos of “The New American Ghetto”. About the Author A photographer of deserving international fame, Camilo Jose Vergara was born in Santiago, Chile, before he relocated to the United States. In the long expanse of a career in photography, Vergara has taken up a very important task: presenting ghettos of urban poverty prevalent in cities of the United States to the world. A task that has been applauded by many, partly because of the fact that others overlook it, and partly because of the marvelous way in which Vergara has successfully accomplished it. Therefore, we may observe a sense of systematic hard work, dedication and even courage in his collection of ghettos. In fact, Vergara is very highly acclaimed for a sense of articulate observation which is clearly reflected in his works. A detailed study of the decay of the urban environment in the United States and a personal look into the sufferings of American Slums is not only an uphill task, but a task well worth the applause. After getting his B.A in sociology from the University Of Notre Dame, Vergara obtained his Masters from the University of Columbia. As stated earlier, his career as a photographer is more or less replete if a discussion of his studies into a decaying Urban America is mentioned. All in all, Vergara’s work has been published in Seven Books: 1. Silent Cities: The Evolution of the American Cemetery. 2. New American Ghetto. 3. American Ruins. 4. Twin Towers Remembered. 5. Unexpected Chicagoland. 6. Subway Memories. 7. How the Other Half Worships.2 All these books have a great deal to say about an Unknown, intangible superpower. In his book “How the other half worships”, Vergara has shown precisely why he should be compared to an ace photographer like Jacob Riis. The book, considered to be inspired by Riis’ world-famous “How the other half Lives”, gives the world an insight into some of America’s most depressing, poverty-riddled and pitiable slums. The decay of urban environment so beautifully captured in his book leads many to think about an almost unimaginable America. An even more significant achievement came by in the form of a revolutionary collection of photographs in his 1997 book, “The New American Ghetto”. The book fetched Vergara the highly prestigious Robert. E. Park award by the American Sociological Association. The book is considered to be one of the best ever documentations of the poorer cities of the United States, and seen as an excellent commentary on slum areas of America. In a career spawning over decades, Vergara has taken up a noble cause of trying to reconstruct a deprived America – a dark part of a country known to world as a complete superpower. In his most famous book, “The New American Ghetto”, he has justified his fame through extensive hard work, meticulous research and immaculate presentation. From Chicago to New York and from Detroit to Los Angeles, the book has touched almost all poor and deprived parts of America – a feat strong enough to stir a revolution in those deprived areas, and to bring to light that there is a part of America the world has never, never seen. The New American Ghetto: The Book Over times immemorial, photographers have painstakingly compiled collections of photographs that meticulously record the upcoming of a brand new, powerful and inspiring nation called America. Writers compete with each other even today in a pursuit to glorify and learn from the superpower. And this is all independent of the countless documentaries filmed as a humble process to try and learn from the most advanced nation of the world. However, as the rule of the world holds true in every case, there are exceptions even here. The only difference being – this exception has done a marvelous, commendable job in the pursuit of exactly the opposite goals – to trace an impoverished, poverty-stricken America. Camilo Jose Vergara, in his award winning book “The New American Ghetto” has accomplished what would have been a dream for anyone else in the world. Ghettos are not uncommon in the United States. In fact, we find not one, but multiple ghettos in the bigger cities of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Over the years, various events – the second world war, the riots of 1960, the beginning (and later, end) of the cold war and the heralding of the industrial revolution – have caused massive, if not infinite changes in the composition of America’s people. America has, therefore, been rightly viewed as a country that has been founded on the ideals of immigrants, and led by a few immigrants who literally changed the face of its destiny. In the vast emigration of people to America, many things have traveled with the people. Not just manpower, not just ideas, not just dreams – but flesh and blood. America was clearly overwhelmed by the stunning multiplication of its populace – and was indeed finding it hard to cope up with ways to feed it and do justice to it. Enter Poverty, enter slums, and enter urban decay. Yes, urban poverty and decay is one of the most unheard of problems of the United states, and Vergara has done more than a normal human being would do in his pursuit of presenting this sorry state of affairs of a darker America to the world. The New American Ghetto is a written proof of the fact that even America has a dark face, which it is trying to remove. As we have previously seen the cause of urban poverty in America, a question becomes imminent: Where exactly does urban poverty strike a country as powerful as the United States? For that question, there is an equally amazing answer: Urban poverty is prevalent almost in all major cities of America – from New York to Chicago, and from Detroit to Los Angeles. In fact, in the major cities, where ghettos are numerous, poverty is not only more explicit, but more devastating. It is wonderful to note how Vergara has immaculately explained the above realities in his collection of photographs in The New American Ghetto. Needless to say, problems were many, and sometimes the results were painful. Even though Vergara’s photography skills were strong enough to capture the amazing part of an impoverished America, they could not prevent the problems of hostility and retribution. As Vergara himself points out: “This project presents many challenges: First, the sheer size of the undertaking. Every large American city has a ghetto, and some, such as New York and Chicago, have several. This could be a project for hundreds of photographers. Secondly, the pictures lack broad commercial appeal. In the early years, few people were interested in buying my photographs of abandoned buildings, empty lots, graffiti, and anonymous housing projects. Lastly, this is a dangerous undertaking. On several occasions, I have had rocks and bottles thrown at me. In Detroit, I was shown a gun and told to leave; in Harlem, I was punched.”3 Those lines are not just strong, but inspirational. Those lines summarize the pain undertaken by one man on what can be easily called a historic, revolutionary mission. The New American Ghetto ought to be viewed as a handbook detailing the distress felt by an ailing, unheard part of America, and must be faithfully adhered to for improving the sorry state of affairs. The book is greatly helpful in trying to remove the few ailments prevailing in American society. If faithfully and carefully studied, we will find that this book leaves no impoverished ghetto untouched, and therefore, must be viewed as one of the handful documents that discuss about a poverty-riddled America. The book will also prove to be helpful in inspiring other photographers to join hands in the noble cause of leading America to perfection, and step up the efforts that are required to present this different face of America. As Vergara himself states, "Despite its drawbacks, I saw the documentation of the American ghetto as the opportunity of my life. In the late 19th and early 20th century, many photographers were paid to photograph the phenomenal growth of cities. Today, there are very few photographers documenting their demise.”4 In the end, we may conclude by saluting the author for a unique project undertaken in an era where people put money and professional growth above national interest, applaud the efforts taken to present to the world an unimaginable America, and sum up the entire award winning book in just one word: Phenomenal. References 1. Wikipedia.Org (The Online Encyclopedia) – Ghetto article. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto 2. Wikipedia.Org (The Online Encyclopedia) – Article on Camilo Jose Vergara. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camilo_Jos%C3%A9_Vergara 3. National Building Museum website. The New American Ghetto (Vergara, Camilo Jose). URL: http://www.nbm.org/blueprints/90s/winter96/page4/page4.html 4. National Building Museum website. The New American Ghetto: Photographs by Camilo Jose Vergara. URL: http://www.nbm.org/Exhibits/past/2000_1996/Ghetto.html Read More