Making Work Visible

Prompted by a photography class assignment entitled “My Neighborhood” and another professor’s remark about Hunter’s lack of a sense of community (derived from its commuting student body), I embarked on a search to discover, and at the same time, create my own community at Hunter College through photography. I was initially inspired by the work of August Sander, a photographer who in the beginning of the 20th century created a series of portraits entitled “People of the 20th Century.” His goal was to essentially “catalog” all the people he encountered but his portraits not only captured the uniqueness of all these individuals, they also gave a sense of dignity to everyone he portrayed, from the baker to the homeless. My goal was not to catalog but to create a connection and honor each individual I encountered in my new “neighborhood”—Hunter College. This assignment gave me an excuse to approach everyone, from custodial staff to fellow students and professors, and allowed me to create my own small community within a sea of new faces. As a result, I feel very much connected to Hunter College and especially to the few people I approached and with whom I shared this experience.