Every country undergoes massive changes over time. While some issues are highlighted and worked on, others do get overlooked deliberately. For instance, gender-based crime rates have risen over the years. In 2022 alone, about 48,800 women have been killed by their families or partners. Yet, there is so little we do to curb the murders. It is during such instances that one needs visual stories to shed light on the social and human rights issues to call for change. In the United States, amongst the multiple photographers, one individual who has been focusing on such stories for decades is Ken Light. And a new photography exhibition is here to honor his legacy.
Who is Ken Light?
A documentary photographer and filmmaker, Ken Light’s work focuses on social issues in Ameirca. In the past five decades of his career, Light has worked on twelve monographs, each focusing on the varied issues the diverse American community faces. For instance, in Texas Death Row, Light looks at the lives of fourteen men who were executed in the state. Through the haunting images, the photographer highlights their identity, their family, and the world of court-sentenced deaths.
An image that resonates the truth about a moment, and holds the viewer breathless with happiness, sadness or makes them want to change something. It’s a photo that doesn’t let go, like a tune running in your brain after you have heard it on the radio.
Similarly, his other books, Valley of Shadows & Dreams, Delta Time, and Coal Hollow, look at the marginalized communities of farmers, coal miners, and more to highlight the problems prevalent in the country. Speaking about his work, Light once said: “ I always try, and be a human, making connections, talking to people, trying to hear their voice, but I always know I am a photographer. I am there because my passion for change and my passion for photography have taken me to have this interaction in the first place. I hope that people understand that.”
In addition, Light became the first photographer to become a Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He currently teaches photojournalism at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Ken Light’s Photography Exhibition
The photographer is now highlighting these precious moments he shot over the decades in a photography exhibition titled Ken Light | American Stories: 1969-1995. The exhibition includes images from his published books, including To The Promised Land and With These Hands.
The black and white at the Bronx Documentary Center, a non-profit gallery and educational center, will certainly move you. The pictures, which often showcased the hardships of the marginalized, are shot with keeping in mind that the narrative is theirs. Whether a portrait of someone’s hands or their eyes, Light captures their plight with empathy. This also includes stories of people of color. The pictures can haunt you, make you smile, think, or feel sorrow, depending on the subject. However, in each photograph, you see Light’s clear intention: to bring about change.
Alongside the images, a newspaper will also be provided, which features Light’s photographs, as well as a text by Executive Director of the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Brian Wallis.
Ken Light | American Stories: 1969-1995 photography exhibition will begin on October 10 and conclude on November 17. For more information, visit the Bronx Documentary Center‘s website.