Thursday,
December 4 at 6pm
MILTON
ROGOVIN’S YEMENI
‘FORGOTTEN ONES’
REMEMBERED
When
social documentary
photographer Milton
Rogovin visited Lackawanna
, New York in 1977,
it was a bustling
steel town with a
small but unique community
of immigrants from
the Arab nation of
Yemen . Devastating
plant closings were
a few years away,
and daily life for
Lackawanna ’s
Yemenis was a combination
of old-world traditions
and contemporary American
experiences.
The
upcoming Arab American
National Museum (AANM)
exhibition A Yemeni
Community: Photographs
from the 1970s by
Milton Rogovin resurrects
that community and
era with 30 photographs
– never before
exhibited together
– that serve
as a meditation on
immigration history,
cultural identity
and the ways people
adapt to a constantly
changing world.
(MEDIA
NOTE: Click HERE to
view sample images;
high-resolution files
are available upon
request.)
“Rogovin
is a real star among
social documentary
photographers in the
U.S. ” says AANM
Curatorial Department
Manager Stephen Williams.
“The Library
of Congress now houses
his collection, an
honor not given to
any other living photographer
for 30 years. It is
thrilling for us to
be able to present
his original works
– the actual
photos he so carefully
crafted in his modest
basement darkroom.”
“These
photos are like a
precious time capsule,
a rich mix of old-world
traditions and 1970s
fashion. From many
different perspectives,
we can enjoy them
and learn from them,”
says Williams, whose
team visited Milton
Rogovin in New York
and worked with Rogovin’s
son, Mark, to create
the exhibition.
Milton
Rogovin (b. 1909)
is the son of Lithuanian
immigrants who settled
in New York City .
The longtime Buffalo
, New York resident
is a Columbia University-trained
optometrist and a
World War II veteran
of the U.S. Army.
Rogovin bought his
first camera in 1942,
but it wasn’t
until the late 1950s
that he undertook
the social documentary
photography for which
he is known today.
Rogovin
photographed those
he called “the
forgotten ones,”
beginning with a series
on Buffalo ’s
African American storefront
churches, starting
in 1957. During subsequent
excursions to Mexico
, Chile (at the invitation
of poet Pablo Neruda),
Spain , Germany and
visits to Appalachia
, New York City and
other parts of New
York State , Rogovin
captured compelling
images of miners,
steel workers and
other laborers. To
read more about Rogovin,
visit http://www.miltonrogovin.com.
through
July 5, 2009
Arab
American National
Museum
13624
Michigan Ave Dearborn,
313 582-2266
