Photographer explores worth of words
Record
Net.com: 11.16.2014 by Michael Fitzgerald
Renowned
photographer Robert Dawson is in
town, shooting a yearlong project called “Raising Literacy: A
Photographic Survey of Libraries and Literacy in San Joaquin County.”
If that
sounds dry, it’s not. Dawson believes a city’s DNA is often encoded in its libraries.
That’s a good call. The champions of literacy, and the forces they fight, speak
volumes about a city.
Or, as
Dawson put it, “It’s not just about literacy for farm workers’ kids. It’s about
literacy as culture and identity.”
On Friday,
Dawson was shooting at French Camp Elementary School. I caught up with him. The
tall, white-haired 64-year-old San Franciscan stood in the office, dressed
Urban Hiker Casual and draped with photographic gear.
Along for
the ride was Dawson’s wife and curator, Ellen Manchester.
“This is a
new situation in terms of photography in a classroom,” said Dawson, who is
known for landscapes. “You’re going to see someone struggling to make sense of
this situation.”
Dawson was
not out to make cute pictures of avuncular teachers and students beaming over
books. His photographs are filled with social and cultural observations. Some
are pointed. READ
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