The North End: 1978
If you wish to obtain this book, please contact Abraham Ravett.
Polaroid SX-70 Photographs
Curated by Abraham Ravett
The images in this book were made in 1978 with Polaroid SX-70 cameras by a group of young adults who worked with me in the North End neighborhood of Boston, MA.
Once familiar with the use of the Polaroid SX-70 cameras, members of the workshop were given free reign to shoot whatever was of interest within their community. No classes were held; instead, I would meet with individuals at one of three community centers and respond to the images produced. Rather than a critique of their methodology or evolving photographic concerns, my feedback was invariably to praise what they had accomplished and encourage the making of additional images.
Prior to the completion of my residency, I edited their photographs and curated an exhibition of eighty images at a nearby gallery sponsored by the Boston Visual Artists Union.
Remarkably, thirty-three years later, these Polaroid images have maintained their color fidelity, still resonate for me with equal poignancy and are by now, a valuable historical record of a time and community in transition.
You can browse images from the book or learn more about The North End (the film) and its associated DVD.