While roaming around the International Center for Photography, you must have caught a glimpse of the Installation by Rabih Mroué. The first thing you will think of is that the room is dark. Indeed, it is quite dark! The room is only dimly lit by a video of Mroue speaking, projected onto the wall at the front. At first glance, you would think it was just like any other dark room in the museum. However, upon entering, you are greeted warmly with a pixelated photograph of a man… pointing a gun straight at you. As you look around, you will see similar pixelated photographs, some of men carrying guns and some of children. All of these photos are titled “Blow Up,” with a different number attached.

This was by far my scariest encounter with a two-dimensional gun. When I watch movies that involve gun violence, I always know that no one is actually shot, or if someone did, I do not have any knowledge about it. Despite the fact I am not a fan of violence, I am typically just entertained by the scenes, as the produces intended to do. In this room though, I know the guns aren’t just used as props. They are meant to cause harm. These photos were taken by Syrian activists during the country’s civil war. Many of them were taken by mobile phone cameras. They took these photos and shared them on the internet with social networking sites to show the world what the Syrian media can not. It is said that one of the men in the installation shot his photographer.

Mroué did an amazing job at bringing this installation to life. Every aspect made me think or feel some sort of emotion. First, the dark room made it eerie and mysterious. Then, the first photo I see upon entering is just a shock. How many times in your life do you see a photo of someone pointing a gun directly at you as the first thing you see when you enter a room? After I enter and look around, I see blurry pictures. They may be low quality, but the messages were clear. The children, the murderers, the soldiers; I could see the fear, anger, and envisioned the violence. I could see the chaos. I felt fear just looking at the guns surrounding me. If I feel this way by simply looking at photographs, I can not begin to even imagine the fear that the activists felt. They were there right in front of the gun barrel, about to be and many times shot. It really makes me wonder, what it is like to be in Syria right now in the midst of their civil war? What gives these photographers the courage to go into such dangerous territory to record and photograph the events?

These pixelated photos answers many questions about Syria but leaves so many more to be answered. How did you feel after you saw Mroue’s installation?

Photo taken from: http://www.artexchange.org.uk/exhibition/rabih-mroue-the-pixelated-revolution

What caught my attention the most was the section of different photographs that covered a whole wall, titled “Proof.” The pictures consisted of a mix of different types of photos such as Polaroids and inkjet prints. According to Jim Goldberg, it was his “attempt to assemble a ‘family album’; a catalogs raisonné of all my (Goldberg’s) photographic encounters during the past nine years…”
In almost all of the photos, Goldberg captures a different person’s face. Each of these people come from different places. I noticed that many people had quite sad or hopeless expressions. Some photos even had writing on them, which talked about the person’s life story. For example, one photo that struck out to me was a photo of a girl. On the photo was written her life story: she was beaten up and drugged at age 14 in Turkey and was later sold as a sex slave in Greece but she is currently free. This is only one story out of many others. When I see the expressions on these people’s faces, I can detect the pain and suffering many of them went through. Even though I may not know what exactly they have gone through, I think the saying is true; a picture is worth a thousand words. From each of these pictures, you can see that many of these people lived completely different lives from the lives we have here.
I think the point of this group of photos is to make us aware of what is happening around the world. I think Goldberg wants us to know that people like them exist, hence the title “Proof,” since these pictures are proof of these people’s existence. These photos made me aware of the different tragedies around the world, but also at the same time, the hope that this world has, such as the freedom the girl mentioned above obtained, “thanks to good people.” It made me feel very fortunate for the environment I live in today and the many opportunities I had.

Why do you think Goldberg named his piece “Proof” and how did these photos make you feel ?