Module 1: Visual Advocacy

The latter half of the 20th century has seen the largest increase between the wealthy and the poor in the history of America. Ever since the economic downturn beginning in 2000, Michigan, specifically Detroit, has been one of the cities that has been hit the hardest. In fact, according the Census statistics, Detroit is among the poorest cities in the country with a staggering one third of its population living below the poverty line . For this reason, I chose to visually illustrate the gap between the poor and the rich, specifically in Detroit. I took a series of pictures that illustrate this ever-increasing gap, however, I chose to depict some elements of both and wealth and poverty in each photograph to illustrate the irony and paradox of the situation. Where the rich and the poor coexist within society in almost every aspect, yet there is no change, and the poor keep getting poorer, while the rich keep getting richer.

In my photographs I tried to show a wide variety of aspects that are very different for someone who is rich and for someone who is poor. To make my point more obvious visually, in all the pictures, I made the object or person associated with wealth standout in color, while the person or object representing poverty in black and white. The lack of color depicts the dark and difficult life that is poverty. In each photo, I also tried to compare similar things (transportation, shelter, etc.)

The first photograph depicts modes of transportation. I have shown a BMW Z4 therefore most likely belonging to someone in the upper class, next to the transportation of a homeless man: a simple bicycle with all the man’s belongings hanging front the handle bars. To further illustrate the point, I highlighted the blue colors on the “BMW” sign of the car, but left the bicycle in black and white.

The second photograph depicts the actual person, one poor and one wealthy. The picture shows a homeless man sitting with a garbage bag of his belongings, while behind him a girl is walking with an expensive designer bag to carry her belongings. The clothing and accessories of the two people are sharply contrasting. Once again, to make the point more evident, I added color to the area of the designer bag, especially where the label on the bag is (Bebe), but left the homeless man and his bag in black and white.

The third photograph depicts the differences in living conditions of the wealthy and poor. The picture shows luxurious lofts, with balconies, flowers, and a very nice building, right next to an old abandoned building with graffiti all over it. Once again, the sharp contrast to where a wealthy person and where a poor person might live are illustrated. As I have done before, I brought color to the flowers on the balcony of the lofts and on the sign advertising for the lofts, but left the old abandoned building with graffiti on it in black and white.

The fourth photograph depicts billboard advertisements aimed at different audiences, yet ironically enough, right next to each other. The billboard on the right is aimed at those who have had home foreclosures, something that is becoming increasingly common in Detroit because of the economy, and which is aimed of course towards those who are not as wealthy. The billboard on the left is an advertisement for a Kawasaki bike, which clearly is not aimed for the same person who is having a home foreclosure. This advertisement is aimed at someone wealthier, someone who can afford to spend money on things such as motorcycles and jet skis. Here once again, I tried to highlight some of the color in the Kawasaki sign and left the other sign in black and white.

The fifth photograph depicts the actual difference in financial status between wealthy and poor. It shows a homeless man sitting outside of a very extravagant looking bank, definitely one with very rich customers, holding up a “Spare Change” sign. I tried to show the bank in color, but leave everything else in the picture black and white.

The last photograph depicts perhaps the difference between how wealthy and poor spend their day. The wealthy are out and about shopping at stores such as Tiffany & Co. and driving around in nice cars. Across the street, a homeless man sleeps on the grass. Once again I left the Tiffany’s in color but left everything else black and white.

Through my photo series I tried to depict how the poor and wealthy are so different in almost all aspects (living conditions, transportation, financial means, clothing, etc.), yet they coexist every day within the same neighborhoods and same streets. Hopefully these photos help people think about what they do everyday: maybe the next time a school girl walk by with her designer purse, she will stop and give the homeless man at the bench a couple dollars, or the man who lives on the 4th floor of his expensive loft will come down and say hello to his neighbors in the graffiti building, or maybe the couple leaving the fancy bank, will drop a couple of coins for the homeless man sitting outside. Unless we realize the huge discrepancy that exists, nothing will change.