VIOLET

How do I show what I see,
and who will do what with it? Work made over the past two years, focusing on the political climate in and around the city of Detroit.

I’ve moved through crowds in August heat.
I’ve seen makeup stream down shining cheeks.
I’ve smelled fresh Sharpie words coating homemade signs.

I’ve been bumped into and shouted at—
lifted onto cherry pickers and pushed out of ropes.
I’ve had dogs lick my cameras as metal detectors chirp.
I’ve misheard so many words lost to blown-out PA systems.

I’ve seen kids held up above crowds while the elderly collapse into folding chairs.
I’ve witnessed a man pin his beliefs to a little girl’s dress.

I’ve photographed television screens in empty bars.
And sipped cold coffee with voters in a high school gym.
I’ve watched sharpshooters on rooftops while people form lines.

I’ve sweat through my clothes in an airplane hangar,
climbed the stairs of repurposed sports arenas,
tripped over television wires in half-empty warehouses,
and abandoned my car in church parking lots.

I’ve assumed things at first glance—
and then felt guilt as I walk away
with a gifted water bottle.

I’ve questioned how a photograph can be used,
and what it can stand for.
I’m nauseous with the power of a crop line.

How do I show what I see,
and who will do what with it?

I don’t feel I know enough about this world.

Work made over the past two years, focusing on the political climate in and around the city of Detroit.

Full body - danielribar.com/violet