Beneath the Barcode

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Former carpet workers now enrolled in school in Afghanistan.

Beneath the

Barcode

A girl picks onions in Texas.

Photo documentary debuts in West Tisbury.

P Girls working the looms in India.

By Brittany Bowker

eople often say a picture is worth a thousand words. For Island filmmaker Len Morris, some pictures are worth a couple thousand lives.

Morris is the editorial director of Media Voices for Children, a Vineyardbased nonprofit that produces documentaries with a focus on children’s human rights. The group’s latest project, Beneath the Barcode, is an installation of images meant to inform, engage, and equip communities with the tools to consider the conditions of labor behind common consumer commodities. The documentary photo exhibit premieres at the West Tisbury library on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 3:30 to 5 pm.

“We want people to leave with real information,” Morris said. “If I don’t want to buy Nestle chocolate bars because of the

terrible conditions of child labor behind it, what should I buy? We want to provide those answers. It’s not an exhibit to exude guilt and anger. It’s an exhibit to produce engagement and more investigation.”

The photos in the exhibit were taken

by U. Roberto “Robin” Romano, Morris’ longtime friend and photographic filmmaking partner who died in 2013.

“He left me his entire lifetime of photography and film,” Morris said. “Mostly because we did the lion’s share of it together.”

Morris and Romano worked together for more than 30 years. They produced several human rights documentaries, including “Stolen Childhoods” and “Rescuing Emmanuel.” They’ve told stories from all over the world. Behind the Barcode represents a collection of Romano’s work Continued on Page C5 PHOTOS: U. ROBERTO “ROBIN” ROMANO

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January 3, 2019

2019

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ach, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and more will make an appearance at the West Tisbury library as channelled through David Rhoderick, pianist, organist, and musicologist. Rhoderick has created an esthetics of music course, meeting on Wednesdays beginning Jan. 9. Many people believe there’s a link in our brains between science, math, and music. In Rhoderick’s case, a Cambridge (England) educated physicist turned computer scientist, it’s certainly the case. Music fascinates him and he’s going to tell you why.

As a teen, Rhoderick won an organ scholarship to Glasgow University, but chose Cambridge and science instead.

Not too shabby. He does sometimes wonder, however, what course his life would have taken had he headed to the keyboard. He doesn’t voice regrets, just enthusiasm for the next phase. Piano was a constant for him from the age of 7, within a family of music lovers. At one point, Rhoderick declared he wanted to play the organ but was told he’d need to wait until his legs were long enough to reach the pedals. Happily, this happened. At Cambridge he sang with the Clare Chapel Choir, a bastion of luscious choral singing, built on hundreds of years of English musical tradition.

Rhoderick spent his working life with IBM, traveling the world, managing a group involved in the understanding and uses of mainframes.

Did you think they were outdated? Apparently many do. Rhoderick says, “We took our show on the road, meeting with CIO and IT officers, detailing how the major financial institutions use mainframes. I’m taking the

Take notes David Rhoderick takes you to school with classical music class.

By Wendy Taucher

Continued from Page C1

practices, the continuum of Western music, and the many ways music is used in other art forms.

“I recently attended a performance at the Gardner by the Handel and Haydn Society, when the ensemble, playing original instruments, performed all six Brandenburg Concertos. It was thrilling.

A performance like that is something special, truly unforgettable,” Rhoderick said.

Rhoderick mentioned two books as points of entry: New York Times chief music critic Anthony Tommisini’s “The Indispensable Composers,” and Oxford’s “The Psychology of Music: A Very Short Introduction”.

Tommisini’s book began as a top 10 list of the best classical composers for the NY Times, with an invitation for readers to comment. They did. Vociferously. Tommisini expected as much, and the dialogue led to the creation of the book. Like Rhoderick’s class, it’s an upbeat take classical music, with

novice friendly musical definitions, anecdotes on love lives, financial disasters, and contemporaneous criticism.

Tommisini recently expanded the list from 10 to 17. Still no Mahler, no Puccini! Can you guess who did make the cut? And what will Rhoderick have to say about it all?

Each hour and 15 minute session will focus on one composer, ending with a short piano performance. The class will go at least eight weeks, and Rhoderick plans to invite other musicians as guest instructors. Rhoderick’s skill, curiosity, and connection to music as a fan has given him the ability to talk with professionals and devotees on equal footing. But, as he says, “No experience necessary.” MVT Classical Music is for YOU!, sponsored by the MVCMS and the West Tisbury library, Wednesdays, 10:30 to 11:15 am at the West Tisbury library.

The first class is Jan. 9. No fee or registration necessary. Attend one class or all of them.

Classical pianist David Rhoderick plays at his home in West Tisbury.

PHOTOS: GABRIELLE MANNINO

skills I used as a ‘mainframe evangelist’ and applying them to my first love, music, and testing the waters at the West Tisbury library.”

Rhoderick did ease off music early in his career, but once he had children, he decided to lead by example, enjoying the kids and the keys. From 2012 to 2017, he was the music director of the First Congregational Church

Beneath the Barcode starting in 1996. His last shoot was in Afghanistan just before he died.

“Sometimes it took multiple trips,” Morris said. “You can’t schedule child labor, and you’re not welcome when you go to film it.”

Romano’s innate skill made up for that.

“Robin was very, very gifted,” Morris said, “and the children shined through. He was kind of a cross between a combat photographer and an 11-year-old. [The children] just looked at him right away and knew he was one of them.

They would trust him. I remember this — he’d take a Swiss Leica camera, something he couldn’t replace. He’d put a roll of film in it and hand it to a street kid and say, ‘Here, take pictures.’ He was just like that.

He was really very cool, and kids knew it and gravitated toward him.”

When it came time to curate the exhibit, Morris had close to 30,000 images and an almost

claims “great artists don’t imitate, they steal.” Rhoderick, an active supporter of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society, has stolen the idea of his new course, Classical Music is for You!, after taking note of some of the Island’s highly successful programs: Adult Community Dance Class with the Yard, led by Jesse Keller Jason, director of Island Programs and Education and co-producer at the Yard, and Sandra Whitworth, the Tisbury Senior Center’s activities director’s trips to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The M.V. Chamber Music Society has a terrific artists-in-theschools program, including classical music presentations, scholarships, and loan-out violins for young musicians.

Rhoderick thinks adding an adult-oriented music course is just the thing.

Rhoderick is interested in the the place music holds in our imagination, in the history of composers, the structure of the works, performance

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too-close relationship to the work. He asked Melissa Knowles, an addition to the Media Voices team as of a year ago, to deep-dive into Romano’s archives.

“There were lots of photos, but it wasn’t an overwhelming task,” Knowles said. “I’m quite used to the numbers.”

Knowles has background in photography, collection management, and archiving. To start, she looked through Romano’s already printed film.

“We certainly see less of film today,” Knowles said.

“It’s a very different feel from digital.”

She narrowed down the collection to 35 images, both film and digital.

“I think the wonderful thing about this work is that [Romano] manages to capture the humanity of the child, even though they are subject to all forms of child labor and traf-

of West Tisbury. He’s even working on his master’s in music from the Open University, a UK distance-learning institution. Rhoderick is on the 16-year plan, hoping to complete his final project on politics in music by the year 2020. Do the math.

There’s a famous quote, attributed to at least three of the greats — Stravinsky, Picasso, and Shaw — that

David Rhoderick will lead a classical music class at the West Tisbury library.

to help them,” Knowles said. “The process needs to be positive for those being photographed, and through that, a sense of beauty can come across.

The exhibit is designed to be a positive experience… It’s not onedimensional.”

“It’s not, ‘Let’s look at 20 pictures, one worse than the next of children being abused,’” Morris said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, I can make you feel guilty in seconds.

But that’s not the job…

We want people to learn and have options — not U. ROBERTO “ROBIN” ROMANO be discouraged, but be ficking,” Knowles said. “These motivated.”

In addition to the photo are beautiful moments, and I think these children can be our exhibit, Behind the Barcode greatest teachers... They show includes an action plan. Viewers walk away with research, such compassion, and Robin apps for their phones, videos, really does photograph that and other tools to help them side of them.” make more informed decisions She commented on today’s about the items they choose media with its shocking and dramatic images from around to purchase. The exhibit will be on display at the library the world. through the end of the month, “I don’t think it’s fair for and then occupy other librara photographer to go in and ies and schools on-Island. The exploit people in order to try Arezoo, age 8

goal is to have the exhibit be a circulating permanent fixture in schools. It’ll expand to communities off-Island as well.

“We have concrete plans for Behind the Barcode in schools in Florida in February. There will also be an exhibit in New York City in March,” Morris said. “We send all the info, the kit, and high-res scans. They can be printed locally. We have the technology to make the show available literally anywhere in the world.”

The work is global, afterall.

About half a million of Romano’s photographs were donated to the Center for Human Rights, Amnesty International, and other child labor coalitions.

“Anyone in coalitions I’ve known and worked with for over 20 years,” Morris said.

“The Department of Labor

asked [Romano and I] to go to five countries and see the conditions of child labor.”

They visited India, Brazil, Kenya, Indonesia, and Mexico.

“We came back and wrote the first report to Congress in the United States,” he said. “It was 80 pages long.”

The U.S. Department of Labor has been a leader in the global work to minimize and eliminate child labor. Romano and Morris’ work has been instrumental.

“The solutions to these issues are emerging,” Morris said. “After 20 years of doing this work, I’m optimistic…

Child labor is changing. It’s been cut by 100 million in 20 years. Its gone from 250 million to 152 million. There’s real change, and this is all part of it.” MVT

Sponsored by the Friends of the Chilmark Public Library

Drop in Art Hour:

Collage Wednesday • January 9th • 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Free and open to all * Chilmark Public Library * 508-645-3360