Mel Rosenthal: South Bronx Photography

For a photography project I began developing I planned to visit the Museum of the City of New York, but fell ill and was unable to go. I looked at the exhibition "South Bronx" by Mel Rosenthal and was inspired to research his work.

Photographer Mel Rosenthal was born in the South Bronx and grew up in the 40's and 50's. He began documentary photographs while working in Brazil and developed a passion that led him to photographing his native home, the South Bronx. His work deals with the impact social conditions has on individuals. At the time he was photographing The Bronx, immigrant were in search of the American Dream, yet the social and civil unrest lead many to return to their countries, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Nicaragua and Vietnam.

I find this project inspirational not only because of the reality it depicts, but because it demonstrates how immigrants in this country have been marginalized and made to be "second-citizens" and yet we still find ways to pursue happiness and joy. It's also important for me to see the history of the borough I currently live in, and that my grandmother lived in for 20+ years; it's a part of her history.

#photography #artist #history #theBronx #inspiration #research