The Great Recession Archives - Reading The Pictures

Notes Photo February 18, 2018

Depicting Poverty: Matt Black Pushes Documentary Photography to its Fullest Range

Creating images that double as fine art, Matt Black is mapping how poverty is a major problem today, now, this minute and every minute.

Notes Photo October 16, 2014

Wage Slaves and Fatal Naps

There are many dramatic events and concerns that fill the visual news window every day. The despair of the low wage hourly worker isn’t the first one that comes to mind.

Notes Photo September 10, 2013

Guns vs. Butter: DC Poor Lose Homes As Syria Debate Drowns Out All

The story of Mr. Coleman and the loss of his home over $134 is a troubling counterpoint to the consuming debate in DC and the press over war with Syria.

Notes Photo July 22, 2013

Is Detroit a city in a lot of trouble? Of course it is. But to the extent the bankruptcy is also a wake-up call, the Reuters slideshow is a derisive post-mortem as well as a subtle expression of racism.

Notes Photo November 29, 2012

A NYPD Officer, a Homeless Man and a Pair of Boots

Especially after the economic depression, we look at this piece of street photography from a position of need, not with our hands out but from the standpoint of needing real recognition and support -- support from institutions and from those in authority.

Notes Photo September 19, 2012

Dear Occupy: Sorry We Missed Your Birthday

Because the conditions that motivated Occupy's existence remain largely unchanged from a year ago, it's truly painful to see the protests in the streets of Manhattan this week ignored as "same ol' same ol'," and primarily dismissed as a birthday party.

Notes Photo June 5, 2012

White House Photo of the Day: “It’s Their Economy, Stupid.”

White House photo (with economic crisis in mind) says: "Don't blame us!"

Notes Photo May 17, 2012

Further Wall Street Bloodletting: Photographers Give JPMorgan Chase

Part of the impunity of Wall Street firms has to do with how stealth they are ... and how hard it is to capture the meltdown in pictures.

Notes Photo May 16, 2012

Klan Freakonomics: KKK Aligns With Obama On Pocketbook Issues? (Photos/Story by Jim Lo Scalzo)

For once, my go-to line when Klan members asked my opinion of their views, “I don’t agree with what you have to say, but I do agree with your right to say it,” wasn’t necessary.

Notes Photo May 15, 2012

Photo Ops and Campaign Slog: Notably, Val and Paul Still on the Fence

Obama working the kitchen table -- and the fence sitters.

Notes Photo May 3, 2012

No Bain, No Gain? — NYT Mag's Pro-Romney Cover/Story

New Yorker magazine asks a Bain Capital executive for his rationale on the validity of the 1%. The outcome is predictable. And, frankly, where would we be without a shoe to shine?

Notes Photo February 16, 2012

Campaign Video: Romney Fakes Drive Through "Inner" Detroit

Now, if you weren't paying really close attention, the logic and flow of the tour would leave you thinking you saw these houses from Mitt's car window.

Notes Photo February 15, 2012

The Emasculation of Wall St. (Yeah, Right)

Was there a shoe and suit credit on an inside page somewhere, perhaps?

Notes Photo February 13, 2012

Photo Awards Can Be Prospective, Too: POYi and Greece on Fire

... And then, shockingly (talking about how a photo can seem like a template), today's newswires are full of more Greek policeman on fire.

Notes Photo February 7, 2012

The Clint Eastwood Chrysler "Half Time in America" Controversy, and the Doctored Wisconsin Footage

It may be safer to say that Chrysler’s Halftime in America ad is more accurately seen through the lens of doctored video footage to be a pro-corporate, anti-union advertisement than any other kind of political statement.

Notes Photo February 4, 2012

Matthew’s Day Off: Or, Why 2012 Super Bowl Ads Drowning in Nostalgia

In the Super Bowl ad nostalgia of 2012, corporations and advertising people they employ are working hard to convince us that things in this decade aren’t so different from the past fifty or so years. ...Funny why that is.

Notes Photo January 15, 2012

Who's Who Isn't

Besides showcasing the fallout of a "power culture," The Voice also mocks how the media glorifies it.

Notes Photo January 7, 2012

The Campaign Trail and Recession Road: Photographer M. Scott Brauer in New Hampshire

Forlorn scenes in Manchester suggest a disconnect, and a cruel one, between the GOP candidate's economic policies and signs of the blowout from The Great Recession.