Alan Chin: Not Exactly a Party

(This is a second post taking a closer look at the 9/12 Tea Party demonstration in Washington D.C. as captured by Contributing Photographer, Alan Chin.)

As opposed to more critical or outlandish portraits of Tea Party rallies, Alan Chin’s photos speak to the emotional underside of the so-called movement.

Behind the passion for and identification with “Don’t Tread on Me,” these faces reflect anguish and exhaustion. Especially in and around the eyes, we see decided strain, a weathered quality — sadness in some, frustration in others, cold anger molding others.  Whether the depression came first, eventually fixing on a fear of “the other” and a shrinking piece of the pie, or the other way around, these figures, as they materialize in the landscape, are raw, exposed nerves in the American psychology.

–Michael Shaw

PHOTOGRAPHS by ALAN CHIN/ facingchange.org