Down these mean streets.

• Position: Focus - "Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography" exhibition

AMERICA'S URBAN streets long have inspired documentary photographers, and U.S. cities underwent unprecedented transformation after World War II. As middle-class populations shifted to the suburbs and new highways cut through thriving neighborhoods, many cities began to experience economic and social disintegration, especially in black, Latino, and working-class communities.

"Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography" unites the work of 10 artists--Manuel Acevedo, Oscar R. Castillo, Frank Espada, Anthony Hernandez, Perla de Leon, Hiram Maristany, Ruben Ochoa, John M. Valadez, Winston Vargas, and Camilo Jose Vergara--who critically reflect on the state of urban America primarily between the 1960s and early 1980s, when government initiatives that sought to address the needs of cities in crisis sparked public debate. The exhibition title is drawn from Piri Thomas' classic 1967 memoir, Down These Mean Streets, where the author narrates his upbringing in New York's El Barrio. Like Tilomas, these photographers turn a critical eye toward neighborhoods that exist on the margins of major cities. Their work challenges perceptions of embattled cities and explores the human narratives that unfolded in communities across the U.S.

The exhibit examines how Latino photographers--many of whom came of age in urban neighborhoods--frame their environment.

They approach the street not as detached observers, but as engaged participants by turning to portraiture, urbanscapes, serial photography, or unconventional manipulations of the photographic image. Many contribute to a long tradition of socially driven documentary photography. Other adopt conceptual strategies or use color photography to capture a less romantic image of the American city. Their work reexamines neighborhoods often viewed as places of social decline and affirms the strength of community in urban America.

Urban neglect especially was visible in the deteriorating condition of city streets. Rather than simply document blight, the photographers gathered here draw out the stories embedded in the physical environment in transformative ways. Espada and Vargas reinterpret abandoned buildings, empty lots, and graffiti as gateways to the memories and experiences of local residents. Castillo focuses on the purposeful ways residents rebuilt and beautified their communities. Acevedo and Ochoa deliberately alter existing images to draw our attention to the features of public space...