STEVE CAGAN – WORKING PICTURES
2017-05-29Steve Cagan, Working Pictures is a career survey and the first solo exhibition on the west coast to highlight Cagan’s five decades of work integrating photography and activism. Cagan’s work gives voice to causes both local and international, ranging from the demise of industry and labor issues in his home state of Ohio, to the social and political strife of refugees in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and most recently to issues with indigenous peoples in Colombia fighting to preserve a way of life.
Cagan self describes his work as “activist photography” because his level of involvement with the communities and movements he photographs goes well beyond the making of striking pictures. More than passive reportage, Cagan is a devoted participant in progressive social change, peace, and justice. He uses his work as an integral tool to give voice, exposure, and positive representation to groups he is intimately involved with. Cagan’s goal is to photograph his subjects with humanity and dignity, not as victims or an unknown “other.” His photographs often celebrate the worker and the family in harsh economic and political climates. Through his dedication and craft, Cagan sheds light on the individual and human experience of surviving in such circumstances as the war zone of El Salvador, the economic crisis of Cuba, or the struggle of indigenous people in the shadow of global industry.
Opposite – A member of IBEW Local 39 doing maintenance work on back-up generators of the municipal power company, Cleveland, Ohio, 2005
Exhibition runs through to July 1st, 2017
SF Camerawork
1011 Market Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco
California
CA 94103
