BEN ARNON – www.benarnonphoto.com
Artist Interview by Juan Madrid
This is an open series of interviews with the artists in the Photography Now 2017 exhibition.
“This is the story of a largely immigrant community’s fight against eminent domain. In a series of photographs comprised of urban landscapes and environmental portraits of Willets Point workers, the project reveals the human stories that exist behind the metal scraps of neglected urban space.“
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1. Where are you from, and what is your background in photography? How did you get into photography?
I am originally from White Plains, NY. I was very fortunate that White Plains High School had an excellent photography course as well as a darkroom. So I initially learned photography using real film and developing my prints using an enlarger in the darkroom. I purchased my first DSLR camera in 2010.
2. What inspired you to make the work in Photography Now 2017? What is the work about? Please describe one piece, the evolution of the concept, and the process?
My work in the Photography Now 2017 exhibition is about Willets Point, Queens, located in New York City. Also known as the Iron Triangle, Willets Point is a neglected and abandoned industrial area in Queens, NY, that has no sewer system, no running water, no paved roads, and no sidewalks. It has historically been home to Latino and Asian immigrant-owned auto repair shops and scrap metal companies. This is the story of a largely immigrant community’s fight against eminent domain. In a series of photographs comprised of urban landscapes and environmental portraits of Willets Point workers, the project reveals the human stories that exist behind the metal scraps of neglected urban space. The project gives voice to those whose voices are drowned out by deep-pocketed institutions and city government.
3. Much of the work in Photography Now 2017 seems to describe a distance between the subject and the viewer, a disconnection, and/or a dystopian situation. How do you think your work relates to these ideas?
My work is about a community of workers who are being displaced. Always overlooked, they will soon be forgotten. Written out of the history books. My work aims to document the humanity that existed once upon a time in a neighborhood called Willets Point. Located literally across the street from our nation’s national pasttime – baseball at Citi Field – Willets Point is emblematic of the disconnection between haves and have nots in the urban jungle.
4. What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a series called Summer Lovin. You can view some of this work at http://benarnonphoto.com
5. What is the one photograph you always wanted to make but never could?
I would have loved to have photographed Muhammad Ali.
General exhibition information:
Photography Now 2017
November 4, 2017 – January 14, 2018
Juried by William Ewing
Featured Artists: Lars Anderson, Sarah Anthony, Ben Arnon, Sandra Bacchi, John Barnard, Emily Berl, Adam Bernard, Christopher Paul Brown, Tianqiutao Chen, Jennifer Garza-Cuen, Orestes Gonzalez, Tamar Granovsky, Alejandro Loureiro Lorenzo, Jeanette May, Zora Murff, Laurie Peek, Ceaphas Stubbs and Ayumi Tanaka.
See full exhibition information or exhibition guide (issuu.com).
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