26-MAY-2014
Urban mosaic, La Paz, Bolivia, 2014
Morning crowds, flowing through the narrow streets of downtown La Paz, create a human mosaic of color, gender, age, costume, and intention. I use a high vantage point to frame the light, color, pattern, and rhythms of this scene. Vividly colored signs bordering the street advertise technology, giving the scene its reference in time. This image tells the story of urbanity, the human texture of the city itself.
26-MAY-2014
Minibus, La Paz, Bolivia, 2014
Dozens of well-worn minibuses provide mass transportation into the heart of La Paz. This one has just pulled up to a tiled ramp and unloaded a capacity crowd of passengers. I waited until all of them had departed, and then photographed the driver as he grabbed a quick smoke alongside the woman who manages this bus. She stands in its doorway to attract the next load of customers, wearing the vivid costume of one of Bolivia’s ethnic cultures, and using a sing- song voice to chant the route of the bus. I interpret this scene by juxtaposing this incongruous couple with each other. There are many contrasts. The man relaxes while the woman works. The man wears jeans and jacket, while the woman is clothed in a long red dress, a pink apron, and a blue conical hat. The man holds the lower ground, while the woman uses the high step. I moved in and made this image from a low angle, removing as much of the irrelevant background as possible by blocking it with the bus. The bus offers background context for these people who are responsible for driving, managing, and marketing it.
26-MAY-2014
Office workers, La Paz, Bolivia, 2014
White-collar workers are relatively inconspicuous on the streets of La Paz, even though the city is the capital of Bolivia. To see two of them waiting for transportation was a rare event. Even more important to my interpretation is the graffiti-laden setting behind them. Graffiti is all over La Paz – its defaced walls are the stuff of anarchy, while people who wear suits, jackets, and ties are almost always tied to the establishment – essentially Bolivia’s government and its corporations. This image is interpretive because it juxtaposes and contrasts social symbols to tell its story. One of the men holds a heavy briefcase in one hand and scratches his face with the other. He does not even see the other man, who stands just ten feet away and is having a telephone conversation. They may share similar status as white- collar workers, yet they do not acknowledge each other’s presence, and ignore even looking at the chaotic words that shout at them from behind.
26-MAY-2014
Crosswalk, La Paz, Bolivia, 2014
I combine red, yellow, and blue, the three primary colors, in this interpretive portrait of a young boy waiting to cross a busy street in the center of La Paz. The key to the image is his hand gesture. He places both of them upon his heart as he looks towards the oncoming traffic. Gestures are interpretive symbols – they stand for feelings, and in this case the gesture symbolizes vulnerability. The graffiti, signage, and crudely painted wall behind him intensify his sense of isolation. Yet his apparent vulnerability also contrasts to the boldness of his costume. It is an athletic warm up suit, and the red color contradicts his vulnerable gesture. The red costume demands our attention. It's assertive color shows us the man he wants to become, and it makes him all the stronger because of it.
26-MAY-2014
Moneychanger, La Paz, Bolivia. 2014
In this, the final image of this gallery, I speak of the history of
Bolivia itself. This indigenous woman, who changes money on the streets of La Paz, wears a traditional costume. It includes a bowler hat, worn by Bolivia’s Quecha and Aymara peoples since the 1920s, when British railway workers first introduced them to the country. She also wears the proud profile of the Inca Empire – an amalgamation of languages, cultures and peoples once holding great wealth and power. Her ancestors built a great civilization here long before the Spanish came to conquer South America, bearing the cross in one hand and the sword in the other. The Spanish conquistadors pillaged South America for its gold and silver, and by choosing a present day Bolivian money-changer as my subject, I create an interpretive image that merges past with present. It is an ironic scene that will always linger in my memory.
