Early Portraits, 1975-81
These portraits were made simultaneous with my early photographs of Mother. She was always my subject, even when she wasn’t in front of my camera. I think I must have always been an observer and a thinker — a college boyfriend once described me in this way. Now it was the early 70s and I was just past my 30th birthday. As soon as I found photography my first thought was to photograph the people in my community of origin.
I felt critical of their values, personally resentful that, in spite of our level of comfort, I had grown up without much emphasis on education which was supposed to be the supreme Jewish value. Had these Jews gone too far from the old country, from the source of what I always thought of as Jewish values? Why had they embraced this watered-down religion and the comfort of affluence, a heavy social calendar and using “maids” to raise children?
I began making appointments to photograph and audiotape interviews, and much to my surprise, I discovered why they had taken these paths. Many had memories, or at least had heard from parents, of a time and place where no Jews had opportunities for upward mobility of any kind. These Reform Jews had shed all physical clues that would identify them as Jews. Even so, in Houston they were excluded from some neighborhoods, country clubs and law firms, but at least they could become successful and create their own community. One person told me, “I wasn’t originally in favor of the formation of the state of Israel because I didn’t want anyone saying to me, ‘Now you have a country of your own. Go there.’ I didn’t want to go anywhere. I had found the promised land here.” Another said, “You weren’t exactly ashamed of being Jewish, but you were quiet about it.”
As I was coming to understand them from their words, I also noticed a shift in my own perspective from looking at the photographs I was making. I went into their homes with some intolerance of the values I’d perceived and came out with a portrait of someone I liked and understood. Even before I knew this shift was taking place, I could see it in my portraits. This hooked me on photography forever.
