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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: December 1, 2003
Latest Update: December 1, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Visual Sociology in a Senior Residence

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, December 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

The Setting: A Home for Assisted Livinig

Original; shot by participant at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey12.jpg. View from the entrance.

Original; shot by participant at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey14.gif. Lunch to a panoramic view in Southern California.

Original; shot by participant at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey15.jpg. View from the entrance.. Church next door lends comfort.

The People

Original; no flash; shot by resident at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey01a.gif

jeanne adds her fantasy of form and color to a cropped section of the photo.
Cropped form and coloring to emphasize a new perspective of seeing. This version at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey03.gif.

. . . . . .
jeanne crops the other resident and colors the background from the same photo.
The fan reminds us that this is sunny Southern California, and that there's probably not air conditioning everywhere. From the same photo.
These three images can be found at at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey05a.gif, at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey11a.gif, and at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey15.gif

Wheel chairs and walkers join the environment."Love that red!" Original photo by resident at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey16.jpg.

Cropped version of original at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey10b.gif; no flash; shot by resident.
Uncropped version.

Cropped version of Srey with residents; originalat at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey09.jpg; shot by resident.
Uncropped version.

Srey with her son; the other generation.
Photo at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey07.jpg.
Uncropped, uncolored version.

Memories through rose-colored glasses. Original photo by resident at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey17.jpg.

Memories through rose-colored glasses. Altered digitally by jeanne. This versiion at at http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/srey18.jpg.

We were surprised that the residents chose to photograph a separate group, suffering from Altzheimer's. Yet they chose to record it, and we chose to include it. The digital alteration was an accident. I attempted to apply color, and color inundated the photo. But it seemed to say, accident or no, what I was thinking. That the fragmented memories merely take us back into the dimension of time in ways we have not yet learned to record and communicate it. I hope that Srey will have a chance to talk with some of the residents about their inclusion. But it is through such dialog as this that we will all eventually come to understand.

This was an exciting first step for me into recording social data with visual technology. It was clearly a first step for both me and Srey, and for the participants. I hope we can continue it. Sounds kind of corny, but I learned a lot. How do you suppose we could use this technique in criminal justice?