Extraordinary portraits of the human beings who make up Occupy Oakland by photographer JR, who says:
Let’s use art to turn OCCUPY OAKLAND inside out. The strength of Occupy lies in the fact that a professor, a laborer, a student, an immigrant, the unemployed, and a business owner can stand together demanding change. We will line the streets of Oakland with large scale portraits that highlight the diversity of Occupy.
I am particularly struck by the intensity of each subject’s personality, which is something I have noticed in other photographs from Occupations: it is as if these people are most truly themselves when gazing out from a principled position, which is really no surprise, I guess. I have to fight the urge to romanticize and fictionalize them—they are not concept art, nor are they plucky rebel fighters from a post-apocalyptic film. They are really doing it—they are really going out and breathing tear gas and catching rubber bullets, batons and grenades, and they’re doing it to prove a point.
It’s a good point, too.
Inside Out Project [Facebook]
Inside Occupy Oakland [Flickr | more photos here]
February 6, 2012
