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Looking at Appalachia Anew
The mere mention of some places in America evoke images that are powerful, instantly recognizable — and stereotyped. Brought to public awareness through photographs of poverty, despair or violence decades ago, some of these places cannot shake off their stubborn notoriety, despite the passage of time and progress. And in some cases, their past misfortune gives ample fodder for cruel, and clueless, jokes.
Just ask Roger May. He is a photographer who proudly calls himself an “Appalachian American.” Born in Kentucky and raised in West Virginia, he jokes that he enjoys “dual citizenship,” but he is serious about changing how his beloved region is portrayed. For too long, images that defined it were dominated by the usual visual tropes — of barefoot kids, rundown shacks and rutted roads — made at the dawn of the federal government’s war on poverty in the 1960s.
“Those pictures created this visual definition of Appalachia,” he said. “It became so easy to say: ‘Yeah, I know Appalachia. I know the Bronx. I know East L.A.’ In any of those places we have visual cues that immediately take us there, yet they are in no way representative of those places.”
Intent on creating an alternative visual narrative, Mr. May issued a call last year on Instagram for a project called “Looking at Appalachia,” inviting professional and amateur photographers to submit images that reflect the 13-state region today. The response was overwhelming, leading to the selection of almost 300 images for the website and 75 prints that are now on exhibit at the Spartanburg County Public Libraries headquarters in South Carolina.
Just ask Roger May. He is a photographer who proudly calls himself an “Appalachian American.” Born in Kentucky and raised in West Virginia, he jokes that he enjoys “dual citizenship,” but he is serious about changing how his beloved region is portrayed. For too long, images that defined it were dominated by the usual visual tropes — of barefoot kids, rundown shacks and rutted roads — made at the dawn of the federal government’s war on poverty in the 1960s.
“Those pictures created this visual definition of Appalachia,” he said. “It became so easy to say: ‘Yeah, I know Appalachia. I know the Bronx. I know East L.A.’ In any of those places we have visual cues that immediately take us there, yet they are in no way representative of those places.”
Intent on creating an alternative visual narrative, Mr. May issued a call last year on Instagram for a project called “Looking at Appalachia,” inviting professional and amateur photographers to submit images that reflect the 13-state region today. The response was overwhelming, leading to the selection of almost 300 images for the website and 75 prints that are now on exhibit at the Spartanburg County Public Libraries headquarters in South Carolina.
Kelsey herding sheep. Pawpaw, Madison County, N.C. 2014.Credit Rob Amberg
slide show and the rest of the story from the new york times
and here's the instagram link: https://instagram.com/lookingatappalachia/
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Montani Semper Liberi ~ Mountaineers are Always Free
