Melissammoore’s Weblog

When I viewed the Nikki Lee projects, i initially thought that they looked like they could have been anyone’s random pictures out of a photo album. The familiarity of this style seems to be her intent throughout the projects. In class we discussed how race and gender were major factors in the projects, but while taking another look at them I noticed a few other factors that could be being addressed in the photos. If these photos are causing us to become aware of our preconcieved notions; the thoughts that instantly develop in about the photos as a result of societal influences, I could see class, ageism and regions being addressed in these photos. The Ohio project upholds these stereotypes that often exist about the middle region of America. Stereotypes that there is much poverty (the house with all the laundry hanging outside and the lady wearing a goofy t-shirt), and that there are still continuous sentiments of segregation as well as a lack of good education (the confederate flag which states “I Ain’t). Class can be shown through The Ohio project, The yuppie project, and The Hispanic project. The yuppie project shows Lee with a dog in front of a department store and a large Tiffany’s blue shopping bag, all signifying wealth and higher class. The Hispanic project showed girls wearing little clothing, a street lined with stoops overflowing with people; signifying a lower class. The men sitting at the folding table could be millionaries; yet notions that have formed over years through media and other mediums, does not make that a conclusion i would ever draw about these men.

Nikki Lee’s projects made me think of a portfolio my friend who is a photography major once did. She was required to find subjects and capture them in their home lifestyle. She wasn’t supposed to know the subjects and the pictures were supposed to provide mini biographies about each subject. My friend decided to take pictures of a few of my friends and myself as opposed to strangers, but acted as if she didn’t know us. She used the pictures that she took of us to create our mini bios, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. In one picture I was standing near a globe and she explained to the class that I traveled the world as part of my carreer. The professor loved her portfolio so much that she wanted her to do a follow up on her subjects. Similar to Lee’s projects, it is a natural reaction to see a photo and immediately assign a story to it. My friend’s professor and class saw what they thought was truth in her portfolio pictures, like we see what we think is truth as society has taught us in Lee’s photos.