I was unfamiliar with Pittsburgh photographer Teenie Harris when I ran across the first photo in this series of posts. In looking for more information about him I ran across the Teenie Harris Archive, a vast repository of some remarkable work spanning much of the twentieth century. As I scanned through parts of the collection I encountered a trove of portraits taken in 1960-61 that appear to be based on random encounters on the sidewalks of downtown Pittsburgh.
Harris was, IMHO, a great portrait photographer and I found myself drawn to his subjects. There’s a warmth and a genuineness in many of their faces that I found reassuring at the end of this crappy week. Maybe it’s the reminder of the basic decency of ordinary people, in their diversity and lack of pretension. Just as I found it reassuring to see the photos of the people out demonstrating these last few days, saying that love trumps hate. I think there’s where real hope lies, when we look in each other’s faces and realize we’re all pretty much the same and we oughta stick together.
Portraits, from top to bottom: Dorothy Small, Raymond Bluhm, Nathan Herring, Janet Kratochwill, Sarah Burney, and Frances Freeman. Photos taken between August 1960 and January 1961 in downtown Pittsburgh by Charles “Teenie” Harris.
Just seemed like a good day to reblog this post from November 12, 2016. I am sickened by recent events. My heart aches for the families and communities that have been brutalized by these vicious acts of hateful violence.
We’ve got to look at each other in our common humanity and realize we’re all brothers & sisters and we have one last chance to beat this divisive & hateful monster back. If we stand together we can do it.
If there is any hope at all for this country it will be because voters overwhelmingly reject the party in power on Election Day, November 6. Every vote matters. Every person matters. Let’s do this, together.
Mooncustafer 