Sam Comen, an L.A. photographer, has found use of his particular
medium of visual art in support of political concerns. Most recently his
photographs have provided portraits of the lives of people near his home city
that have immigrated to the United States. Flipping through his work, my
attention was brought to his project titled Dreamers:
Undocumented & Unafraid. Hoping to use his talents as a photographer to
push for immigration reform, Comen creates portraits of DREAMers that reside in
his immediate city of Los Angeles. As we’ve discussed in class, DREAMers are
undocumented young people pushing for their rights to remain in the country
their parents had brought them when they were children. They are fighting for
their rights to remain home.
Working together with all 28 DREAMers to capture who they
are and what they are boldly fighting for provides a new way of looking at
immigration in today’s world and direct examples of why pushing for immigration
reform really matters. As Comen
points out in his introduction to the collection of portraits, allowing for
their names, pictures, and stories to be publicly available is a very brave
thing for them to participate in. In my opinion, this personal bravery and
commitment gives another powerful element to the work Comen has created. Each
of these stories has something unique and powerful to offer and these
incredibly passionate young people are beautifully captured in both portrait
and story. I think Comen’s work provides a wonderful example of how we can use
our art for topics we touch upon in this
class.
Most of the DREAMers photographed are involved in art,
activism, or both. In this way, I think a lot of us can relate to them. Flip
through the portraits and stories Comen has carefully put together with the
help of people whose lives are drastically effected by immigration.
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