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Photo by Jane Scherr |
Wendy Ewald Interview: Conversations with History; Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
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Photo by Jane Scherr |
Page 4 of 6
You have said that the camera is an educational tool for you, and it seems that the camera and the process you've just discussed constitute ways for you to adapt to and learn about the very different environments you've gone to. You've been in Appalachia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, South Africa, India, Mexico, and other places. Tell us about how you go to these places. Do you research them before you go there, or is your research your work?
Yes. I always think that I should figure out what I'm going to do before I go and make a stab at it. I studied Arabic, I studied Hindi. Language interests me and the concept of language does. And I try to read books; I get all my books, but they really don't mean anything to me until I'm there, and I've sort of accepted that. My work is really my research, and I don't want to have preconceived notions. Of course, we all have preconceived notions, but I don't want to reinforce those or tweak them until I'm there and can have my own experience, and have the experience with the kids, have the kids tell me what's going on. So a lot of it is just sitting and looking, and it's very uncomfortable and I don't understand what's going on. Despair. About three-fourths of the way through I think, oh yeah, I get this, this is fun, this is great, I understand. And then it's almost over.
Are you surprised that such a shy person should be doing this?
Yes.
So the camera has empowered you in the process?
Yes. Absolutely. As a kid I was so shy I couldn't walk down the street or ask for a glass of water.
How do you choose these very different places, or are the choices differently determined?
Well, in the beginning I made the choices more consciously of places I was interested in. I mean India, for example, I really wanted to see. I'd seen pictures of India that I thought were amazing and very complex, visually complex. I wanted to see how a child in that environment would use a camera. Then for Mexico, for example, Polaroid wanted to send somebody to Mexico for the 500th anniversary of Columbus to do a project. I said, sure I'll go. It was ironic, because I chose to work in Chiapas, and because I worked in Chiapas, Polaroid now does not want any of those photographs to be shown in Mexico. It became a political thing, but it was wonderful to be able to go and do that.
So you got to choose where you went in Mexico? Why did you choose Chiapas?
Because there was a Mayan writers cooperative, Sna Jtz'Ibajom, which has a literacy project, and I thought that would be a very interesting connection to make. And also I was interested in looking at Mayan and non-Mayan kids.
Is it common that when you go some place or are in the process of choosing, you're working with an organization on the ground?
Yes, that's a given. That's how I really start; once I'm interested in some place, I find an organization that has similar goals, or that what I do can help them in some way and we can set something up.
Is it your hope that something will endure after you've gone, either benefiting the organization or the integration of photography into their work?
Yes, so I bring the equipment in with me, I train somebody. We talk about that from the beginning. In Chiapas, actually for the Whitney biennial, they used one of the kids' pictures for the portfolio representing the biennial so I was able to send them money back so they could upgrade. So that's another thing that's sort of interesting, to try to sell the pictures so that money can go back so that the programs can grow.
It sounds like your experience in the '60s influenced you, both Antioch and the teaching of black history at an early time in the movement there. Many of the places you've gone to are situations of poverty and underdevelopment. What is the reason for that?
I never think about it that way. I always think that I'm going to work in a rural area, and it happens that rural areas don't have as many resources. Because I'm interested in working with kids for whom it's the first experience or a new experience with photography.
Next page: Case Study: India
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