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“The photography of Matt Black lays down a portrait of two Americas, but it doesn’t necessarily focus on the America you and I…know,” says educator Tatiana Hopper in her video exploring the work of Matt Black. He’s a documentary photographer who goes after the stories that aren’t really being told. Specifically, he makes tons of photographs around the working class and poverty-striken in America. But his stories are sometimes obfuscated by social media algorithms around trends or more sensationalized stories in the news. In the media, you can call his work a human interest story. But if this is the type of stuff that gets you depressed, you should be very well aware that the people in Matt’s photos could be you one day.
Lead image is a Screenshot from the video by Tatiana Hopper. Please visit her channel for more about real photography and less about gear. You can see more of Matt Black’s work on his Instagram and website. Magnum Photos also has a course with him.
I listened to a podcast the other day that talks about how wellness is a booming industry. In fact, the idea of feeling okay is being sold to us. It preys on the idea that we have to be okay and that for a little bit of money, it can happen. Don’t get me wrong, having money is at the root of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. You need it to feel secure and so that you can have all the other things you need. But many people are nowhere as well off as someone reading this article.
“Matt Black’s Photography…captures the beauty in adversity and in hardship.”
Tatiana Hopper
Tatiana Hopper states that Matt Black focuses on people who are facing the adversities of life. In fact, she quotes a study that states that the bottom half of America have been completely shut off from economic growth since the 1970s. The pandemic hasn’t made it any easier. In France, the workers rise up, strike, and cause chaos. But here in America, we’re often too tired, busy, or hypnotized by our phones.
Matt’s images have a black and white photo style that is used creatively in so many different ways. By removing the color from the scenes, they have a classic look that makes us believe that any of these photos could’ve been from any time in history. It also makes us pay close to attention to the details in-between the tones and based on compositions. He uses pretty specific strategies to also make his work not feel like documentary porn:
Matt’s work is often wide and not just focusing on someone begging. Instead, he’s showing their lifestyle and clearly gaining their trust to document their life.
By using wide angles, he’s showing us the environment. The point of the photo then isn’t just the person, but the entire scene and situation that they’re in.
He isn’t always very close to people physically — or at least his images present that way. But it’s also very clear that he has permission and access to do the work that he does.
Matt consistently keeps all factors at the center of his work.
Tatiana’s video can be seen above, and we really recommend that you take a look at it.
For more work like this, you should check out some of our previous features on photographers. Mario Cruz has done exceptional work in this genre. Owen Kahn tried making a book about it. And years ago, we partnered with Fujifilm to tell stories just like this.
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