Myrona Basystyi, the Ukraine
‘GALLERY OF NEW AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS’/’THE NEW AMERICANS’ is a fine art photographic portfolio of portraits that celebrates those who have succeeded the 3 to 5 year process to become the newest naturalized citizens of these United States. Their multitudinous character — represented by their physical features, clothing and accessories, descriptive of their countries of origin — combine to tell a compelling story missing from today’s perspective on immigration. Bridging barriers or prejudice between cultures, if any, are their eyes, reaching out to meet our own in friendship, making a strong connection between peoples conjoined in their pride of American citizenship.
Images of this nature have never been done before in a cohesive form in this country. The closest comparison is August Sander monumental collection What remains emblazoned in the American psyche are historical photographs and black and white moving pictures of the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” — the Italians, Irish, Germans, French, Polish, Spaniards, Greeks, et al — from the turn of the 20th century linked forever to ‘The New Colossus’ by Emma Lazarus.
The new American immigrants are now of a more worldly population — from Eurasia, the Middle East, from Africa, South America and Latin America. Literally they come from an alphabetical listing of 174 countries around the world.
‘GALLERY OF NEW AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS’/’THE NEW AMERICANS’ is a new fine art photographic portraiture collection that revisits and renews our appreciation of what continues to make a strong contribution in this country’s greatness — America is a land of immigrants.
bobzahn 