Artist Statement
Cameras are tools that allow photographers to create a narrative by using visual language to imagine history as it happens, and in doing so, enables them to dictate what is important enough to record. Unfortunately, people without social, economic, or political power were largely subjected to lack of access to photographic technology and denied the chance to dictate how they would be portrayed in photographic work. Perhaps the most infamous example of this inequality are the ethnographic images taken throughout the 19th century. These chauvinistic images leave a legacy of fetishization and exoticism that continue distort our collective historical memory.
Community Obscura achieves power—both symbolic and real—by reversing this bogus dynamic. Learning to build a camera is an exercise in autonomy and freedom to collect and create history that would otherwise be forgotten. My camera serves as a symbolic and practical tool for this collection and creation of history, but I do not want it to end there.
The project will continue when I begin to work as a public school librarian. In that role, this project can be implemented on a larger scale with my students. As I teach them how photography has played a role in the historical disservice of equity and justice, I will guide them in making their own cameras to write a history that combats these tendencies
Biography (100-150)
German is a Milwaukee-based artist working in photography, book arts, and social practice art. He is finishing degrees in photography and art history from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His interest in community organizing inform his work, which he uses to respond critically to the effects of social and economic stratification.
After graduating from UWM, German will continue on to work in education. He will attend graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in library sciences with the goal of becoming a public school librarian. This position will allow him to maintain an active role as both organizer and active member of his community
