Nueva Luz Vol 13 Issue 2

NUEVA LUZ photographic journal

Volume 13 No. 2 – U.S. $10.00

HANK WILLIS THOMAS IAN RAMIREZ SANAZ MAZINANI NONTSIKELELO VELEKO GUEST EDITED BY DARIUS HIMES THE AFTERMATH PROJECT

NUEVA LUZ

Editorial

photographic journal volume 13:2

NUEVA LUZ STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Editors Miriam Romais Daniel Schmeichler Production Designer Olga Omelchenko Advertising Marisol Díaz Translator Emilio Guerra

Sidney Baumgarten, Secretary Mark Brown Frank Gimpaya, Chair Luis Rodriguez, Treasurer Julio Bellber Miriam Romais

EN FOCO STAFF Executive Director Miriam Romais Program Director Marisol Díaz Administrative Coordinator Janine Ryan Graphic Design Nita Le Co-Founder and Director Emeritus Charles Biasiny-Rivera Original Concept & Design Frank Gimpaya

BOARD OF ADVISORS Nadema Agard Terry Boddie Elizabeth Ferrer Ricky Flores Jeff Hoone Mary Anne Holley Nitza Luna Marysol Nieves Bonnie Portelance Sophie Rivera Orville Robertson Mel Rosenthal Ariel Shanberg Beuford Smith PRINTING Eastwood Litho, Inc. 315/437-2626 DISTRIBUTORS Ubiquity Distributors, Inc. 718/789-3137 Armadillo & Co. 800/499-7674

C o p y r i g h t © 2008 by En Foco, Inc. (ISSN 0887-5855) All Rights Reserved • 718/931-9311 1738 Hone Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461 www.enfoco.org Nueva Luz is published three times per year by En Foco, a non-profit organization supporting fine art and documentary photographers of diverse cultures, primarily U.S. residents of Latino, African and Asian heritage, and Native Peoples of the Americas and the Pacific.

Nueva Luz is made possible through subscriptions, our Print Collectors Program, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. En Foco is also funded in part by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Bronx Council on the Arts, JP Morgan Chase, Carnegie Corporation of NY, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture and the Ford Foundation, Daniele Agostino Derossi Foundation, WNYC.org, Lowepro, Bogen, Archival Methods, Fuji Film, Casa de Vinos and the many En Foco members and friends.

Nueva Luz will make accommodations under ADA guidelines for those needing large print.

© Marisol Díaz

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 1 Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 2–7 Sanaz Mazinani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 8–15 Ian Ramirez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 16–17 Nontsikelelo Veleko . . . . . . . . . .page 18–27 Hank Willis Thomas . . . . . . . . . . .page 28–36 Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 37 Intercambio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 38–41 Critical Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 42 Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 42–44

© Heidi Leigh Johansen

Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s

Miriam Romais

Daniel Schmeichler

Several years ago we asked Darius Himes: If you could write about anything... what would it be?

That simple question—which is not simple at all when one starts delving into the possibilities— led to this issue. After many conversations about identity, culture and En Foco's mission, Darius chose to take on the complex issues surrounding race. A rich dialogue ensued, one whose conclusion is perhaps that there are no conclusions here, and that the role of this magazine is to support ideas and ask as many questions as fit its pages.

Darius offers a sincere piece that recognizes the importance of diversity and is filled with optimism.

This is an exceptional issue of Nueva Luz, primarily because of the questions asked, but also because with this issue come many "firsts" for the magazine: a selection of artists that goes beyond our usual geographic realm; a dramatic increase in distribution; participation in a record number of photography events, and an artist talk—in collaboration with The Lucie Foundation—with Hank Willis Thomas and Sara Terry.

Over the last two decades many things have changed in the world, mostly for the better. All we need to do is look at the newspaper and see Barack Obama's picture on the cover to be filled with hope, and to feel the promise of change. In this sense, we share Darius's optimism. Perhaps, his greatest contribution is to once again confirm that after 23 years, Nueva Luz's core mission remains ever pertinent and impactful. Nueva Luz is cultural identity. Nueva Luz is also race, heritage and community. Most of all, Nueva Luz is a thriving diversity and a wealth of perspective.

We look forward to your feedback. Please join us and enjoy!

Hace algunos años, le preguntamos a Darius Himes: Si pudieras escribir cualquier cosa, ¿sobre qué sería? Esa pregunta simple –que no es nada simple cuando uno comienza a analizar las posibilidades- condujo a este número. Después de muchas conversaciones sobre la identidad, la cultura y la misión de En Foco, Darius decidió abordar los complejos temas que rodean la raza. El resultado es un diálogo fructífero, cuya conclusión es posiblemente que aquí no hay conclusiones, y que el papel de esta revista es apoyar ideas y hacer el mayor número de preguntas que quepan en sus páginas.

Darius ofrece un artículo sincero que reconoce la importancia de la diversidad y está repleto de optimismo. Este es un número excepcional, principalmente por las preguntas que postula, pero también porque en este número existen muchos “primeros” para la revista: una selección de artistas que transciende nuestro ámbito geográfico habitual; un aumento importante en la distribución; la participación en un número record de eventos fotográficos y una conversación con Hank Willis Thomas y Sara Terry – en colaboración con la Fundación Lucie.

En las últimas dos décadas muchas cosas han cambiado en el mundo, principalmente para mejor.

Todo lo que tenemos que hacer es leer un periódico y ver la foto de Barack Obama en la primera página para llenarnos de esperanza, y para sentir la promesa de cambio. En este sentido, compartimos el optimismo de Darius. Quizá su mayor contribución es una vez más confirmar que después de 23 años, la misión central de Nueva Luz permanece tan definitiva e impactante como nunca. Nueva Luz es identidad cultural. Nueva Luz también es raza, patrimonio y cultura.

Ante todo, Nueva Luz es una diversidad floreciente y una amplia perspectiva. Esperamos sus comentarios. ¡Por favor únase a nosotros y disfrute!

Miriam Romais & Daniel Schmeichler, Editors

Cover: Hank Willis Thomas, Smokin Joe Ain't J'mama, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1978/2006. Lightjet print, 31x30"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko, Sibu IV, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

Commentary/Comentario

HERE

AM I Ref lections on Race and the Golden Rule

by Darius Himes

During this year's Look3 Festival of Photography, a “Magnum in Motion” film clip was presented paying homage to Philip Jones Griffiths, the recently deceased British photographer whose decades-long involvement with the Vietnamese people stretched back to the height of the Vietnam War. In the middle of the film he was shown making the following succinct statement about his long-term devotion to the Vietnamese people: “I felt a deep empathy. I felt these were my people.”

Durante el Festival de Fotografía Look3 de este año, se presentó un fragmento fílmico, "Magnum in Motion" en homenaje a Philip Jones Griffiths, el recién fallecido fotógrafo británico cuya relación de varias décadas con el pueblo vietnamita se inició en lo más intenso de la Guerra de Vietnam. A mitad de película, aparece declarando sucintamente su devoción a largo plazo hacia el pueblo vietnamita.

"Sentí una empatía profunda. Sentí que ese era mi pueblo".

This succinct statement by Griffiths hints at and invites many questions about race, identity, loyalty and family, all of which speak to a vital dialogue currently occurring in contemporary American society and one that has both local and global ramifications. It also speaks to the core mission of Nueva Luz.

La declaración sucinta de Griffiths alude e invita a varias preguntas sobre la raza, identidad, lealtad y familia, todas ellas se dirigen a un diálogo vital que actualmente toma lugar en la sociedad estadounidense contemporánea y una que tiene ramificaciones tanto locales como globales. También representa la misión central de Nueva Luz.

The concept of "race" has been used as a socio-economic tool and a political and cultural construct for centuries with both positive and negative intent and consequences. Indeed, for many, the broader social experience surrounding "race" is anything but uplifting. Our need for updated definitions and approaches to discussing racial and ethnic backgrounds has never been greater or more readily evident. I hope to address this need—within the confines of the space relative to the vastness and complexity of the subject—in both this essay and the artists whose work I’ve chosen to showcase by posing a group of questions and inviting dialogue.

El concepto de "raza" ha sido empleado como una herramienta socioeconómica y una construcción política y cultural durante siglos, con intenciones y consecuencias tanto positivas como negativas. De hecho, para muchos, la amplia experiencia social que rodea la "raza" es de todo menos inspiradora. Nuestra necesidad para definiciones y aproximaciones actualizadas para conversar sobre la raza y origen étnico nunca ha sido mayor o más evidente. Espero dirigirme a esta necesidad — dentro de los límites del espacio en relación a lo amplio y complejo del tema — en este ensayo y en las obras de los artistas que he seleccionado al plantear un grupo de preguntas y al invitar al diálogo.

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Commentary/Comentario The four photographers featured in this issue—Nontsikelelo Veleko, Hank Willis Thomas, Sanaz Mazinani, and Ian Ramirez— are, in one way or another, asking us first to look carefully at our fellow human beings, and secondly to think carefully about what we see and how we interpret what we see. Photography, which was born in an era of unfounded but long-held theories of racial superiority, has a history of reinforcing the notion of "the other."

Through the work of artists such as these, and others such as Liz Cohen, Kara Walker, Myra Greene and Fazal Sheikh, it has now become a powerful means for raising the dialogue about race and identity to a more enlightened level.

Los cuatro fotógrafos seleccionados en este número – Nontsikelelo Veleko, Hank Willis Thomas, Sanaz Mazinani, e Ian Ramírez – nos, de una manera u otra, piden que primero miremos cuidadosamente a nuestro prójimo humano y segundo que pensemos cuidadosamente en lo que vemos y en cómo interpretamos lo que vemos. La fotografía, nacida en una era de teorías infundadas pero arraigadas de superioridad racial, tiene una historia de reforzar la noción "del otro". Mediante el trabajo de artistas como estos, y otros como Liz Cohen, Kara Walker, Myra Greene y Fazal Sheikh, se ha convertido en un medio poderoso para elevar el diálogo sobre la raza y la identidad a un nivel más ilustrado.

In a recent conversation with photographer Myra Greene I asked her about her childhood.

En una conversación reciente con la fotógrafa Myra Greene, le pregunté sobre su niñez.

“I grew up in Harlem,” she told me, “and was told that I talk too white but my hair was too kinky. Black people know their blackness, but they’re asked to articulate it and perform it in society. There is an expectation to perform your blackness, even among fellow blacks.”

“Crecí en Harlem”, me dijo, “y me dijeron que hablaba demasiado como blanca pero que mi cabello era demasiado rizado.

Las personas negras conocen su negritud, pero se les pide que la articulen y representen en sociedad. Existe una expectativa para representar tu negritud, aun entre los propios negros.

“Don’t you get tired of that?” I asked.

“¿No te cansa eso?” Le pregunté.

“Yeah! But I play with that subversively in my work. The real world art market doesn’t want to hear big ideas about ‘race’ though. Lots of artists deal with race and identity, but that’s not the stuff that’s bought and sold. The black joke is that you can only have three famous black people at a time.”

“ ¡Sí! Pero juego con eso de manera subversiva en mi obra.

Aunque el mercado de arte del mundo real no quiere escuchar ideas grandes sobre ‘la raza'. Muchos artistas afrontan la raza y la identidad, pero eso no es la mercancía que se compra y que se vende. El chiste negro es que solo se puede tener tres negros famosos a la vez”.

Whether it’s a show on CNN about being “Black in America”; or an article that discusses the “blackness” of Tyra Banks in The New York Times Sunday magazine; or the more obvious debate surrounding Senator Barak Obama who had a white American mother and a black African father, the subject of race has never been more open and prevalent in conversation than it is today.

Ya sea en un programa en la cadena CNN sobre ser “Negro en Estados Unidos” o un artículo que comenta sobre la “negritud” de Tyra Banks en la revista dominical del New York Times, o el debate más obvio en torno al senador Barack Obama, que tenía una madre blanca estadounidense y un padre negro africano, la temática de la raza nunca ha sido más abierta y prevalente que hoy en día.

But what does it mean, on a personal level, to be black or white or brown or red or yellow (or a combination thereof), when it comes to individual accomplishments? What does it mean to be part of a “people”? How do we delimit the area circumscribed by such a term, in an era of cultural mash-ups and widespread crosscultural and interracial marriage? How do we feel about Griffiths’ statement that he felt the Vietnamese were his “people”? Are they “his” people in any real way?

Conversely, can anyone deny that they are his people? To deny his affirmation, to state that they are not his people, seems to limit the expansiveness of heart, of pure intention, contained in such a statement, which ultimately has nothing to do with differences, but rather with our commonalities. A denial of his statement implies that we should not have concern for “people” that we are not born into or that are geographically far removed from our immediate ancestors.

Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth... It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.

Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah

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¿Pero qué significa, a nivel personal, ser negro o blanco o marrón o rojo o amarillo (o cualquier combinación de estos) en lo que se refiere a logros personales? ¿Qué significa ser parte de una “gente”? ¿Cómo delimitamos la zona circunscrita por dicho concepto en una era de mezclas culturales y de matrimonios interraciales y multiculturales? ¿Cómo interpretamos el comentario de Griffiths, que sentían que los vietnamitas eran su “pueblo”? ¿Son “su” pueblo en alguna forma real?

Por otra parte, ¿puede alguien negar que son su gente? Negar su afirmación, declarar que no son su gente, parece limitar la amplitud de corazón, de intención pura, contenidos en esa declaración, que a fin de cuentas no tiene nada que ver con las diferencias, pero sí con lo que tenemos en común. Una negación de su declaración implica que no debemos preocuparnos por “pueblos” en los que no hemos nacido o que están geográficamente remotos de nuestros antepasados inmediatos.

Bendito y feliz es aquel que se levanta para promocionar los mejores intereses y vínculos de la tierra…no se debe enorgullecer de amar su propio país, sino de amar el mundo entero. La tierra es sólo un país y la humanidad son sus ciudadanos De Impresiones sobre los escritos de Baha’u’llah

Hank Willis Thomas, We are the Canvas, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 2004/2008. Lightjet print, 36x28"

Commentary/Comentario

To date, history is principally a record of the experience of tribes, cultures, classes, and nations. With the physical unification of the planet in this century and the undeniable interdependence of all who live on it, the history of humanity as one people has now begun. For all practical purposes, the world has shrunk—it truly is a small world after all.

Hasta la fecha, la historia es principalmente un registro de las vivencias de tribus, culturas, clases y naciones. Con la unificación física del planeta en este siglo y la interdependencia innegable de todos los que lo habitan, la historia de la humanidad como un pueblo ya ha comenzado. A efectos prácticos, el mundo ha encogido – verdaderamente es un pañuelo.

"My people” are no longer just those who live on my block or in my hometown of New Liberty, Iowa, nor are “my people” confined to the other small towns in eastern Iowa where I grew up— Wilton, Durant, Bennett, Plain View and Big Rock. In a global society, my German immigrant forebears genetically contributed to what I look like. Ideologically, however, I must form my own face in this world.

Mi pueblo ya no sólo son los que viven en mi cuadra o en mi lugar de nacimiento, New Liberty, Iowa, ni “mi gente” se confina a los otros pueblecitos de la zona oriental de Iowa donde crecí: Wilton, Durant, Bennett, Plain View y Big Rock. En una sociedad global, mis antepasados, inmigrantes alemanes, contribuyeron genéticamente a mi aspecto. Ideológicamente, sin embargo, debo crear mi propia cara en este mundo.

When I consider the simple existential statement “I am,” no matter how far I travel, I cannot seem to find a natural place to limit my sense of self. If “I am,” well, then, what am I when it comes to my sense of being human? Do I stop at county lines, state lines or national borders in my identity? Should I use class or race, education or nationality to define myself? How do I draw bloodlines, when the genetic commonality of all human beings has been proven?

Cuando considero la sencilla declaración existencial, “yo soy”, no importa lo lejos que viaje, no parezco encontrar un lugar natural para limitar el sentido de mi persona. Si “yo soy”, entonces, ¿qué soy cuando se trata de mi sentido de ser humano? ¿Me detengo en los límites condales, estatales o en las fronteras nacionales en mi identidad? ¿Debo utilizar clase o raza, estudios o nacionalidad para definirme a mí mismo? ¿Cómo puedo hacer líneas genealógicas cuando la genética común de todos los seres humanos ha sido demostrada?

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Commentary/Comentario Concomitant to this expansion of identity is an expansion of concern and responsibility. The global ramifications of the Golden Rule—to do unto others as you would have done unto you—are truly revolutionary.

A la par con esta expansión de identidad está una expansión de preocupación y responsabilidad. Las ramificaciones de la Regla Dorada — en todas las cosas, trata al prójimo como tú quisieras ser tratado — son verdaderamente revolucionarias.

The concept of “race” is inherently limiting—it’s not expansive enough to meet the needs of an interrelated humanity that struggles to overcome economic, racial and religious prejudices. In an era of rampant tribalism, nationalism and racialism, the task of our time is to internally reconcile the paradox of being separate as distinct and unique individuals—through culture, class, race, religion, education, and individual talents—and yet connected to all of humanity.

El concepto de "raza" es inherentemente limitado — no es lo suficientemente amplio para cumplir con las necesidades de una humanidad interrelacionada que intenta superar los prejuicios económicos, raciales y religiosos. En una era de tribalismo, nacionalismo y racialismo exacerbado, nuestra tarea del momento es intentar reconciliar la paradoja de ser individuos distintos y únicos — mediante talentos culturales, de clase, raza, religión, educativos e individuales — y aun así conectados a toda la humanidad.

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned; that until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; that until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; that until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; that until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained...

The fact that the sentiment of world citizenship—expressed here in the words of Haile Selassie and unforgettably set to music by Bob Marley—has taken root in the heart of humanity not only speaks to the universality of the ideal, but the inevitability of its ultimate manifestation in our social structures. Stating that this sentiment has “taken root” is not to naively believe that the “plant” of global citizenship and racial equanimity has grown to its fullest, most mature degree—far from it. Race clearly defines— and is used to limit—the experiences of many. But it is an acknowledgment of the power of ideals—and the power of the arts—to assist in the creation of an ever-advancing civilization.

It was over 200 years ago that Alexis de Tocqueville, having visited the newly formed American Republic, stated that the spread of democracy across the planet was inevitable. The democratic impulse he witnessed in America contained a truth whose preeminence in the affairs of human governance was both timely, on a historical level, and unstoppable. Today, I believe, we are witnessing a parallel experience—an unstoppable ideal—in the shaping of a collective human identity. We are one people. Not yet in practice, but in truth.

Attendant to this burgeoning notion of world citizenship and the fundamental unity of the human race is an appreciation of the diversity of the cultures of the world, constituting a vast and collective global heritage.

The artists I’ve included come from Iran, South Africa, southern Texas and the San Francisco Bay area. Each artist is asking questions about their own identity by photographing specific groups of people based on either cultural, racial, or national definition, and in turn they ask the audience to reflect on these same questions.

Nontsikelelo Veleko is a young, black South African woman who has been criticized for stepping outside the bounds of her own racial demographics and particular ethnicity in much the same way that Myra Greene describes. Her frontal photographs of South African youths concentrate on their clothing and amalgamated

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Hasta que la filosofía que predica que una raza es superior y la otra inferior sea final y permanentemente desacreditada y abandonada, hasta que ya no hayan ciudadanos de primera clase y de segunda clase en cualquier nación; hasta que el color de piel de un hombre no tenga mayor importancia que el color de sus ojos; hasta que los derechos humanos básicos sean igualmente garantizados a todos sin importar su raza; hasta ese día, el sueño de una paz duradera y de ciudadanía mundial y el triunfo de la moralidad internacional serán una ilusión efímera, deseada pero nunca alcanzada...

El hecho que el sentir de la ciudadanía mundial — expresado antes en las palabras de Haile Selassie y puesto en música de manera inolvidable por Bob Marley — ha arraigado en el corazón de la humanidad no sólo se dirige a la universalidad del ideal, sino a la inevitabilidad de su manifestación final en nuestras estructuras sociales. Declarar que este sentir ha "arraigado" no es creer ingenuamente que la planta de la ciudadanía global y la ecuanimidad racial ha crecido hasta su grado mayor y más maduro — nada más lejos. La raza claramente define — y es utilizada para limitar — las experiencias de muchos. Pero es un reconocimiento del poder de las ideas — y del poder de las artes — para ayudar en la creación de una civilización en constante avance.

Fue hace más de 200 años que Alexis de Tocqueville, después de visitar la nueva república estadounidense, declaró que el crecimiento de la democracia a lo largo del planeta era inevitable. El impulso democrático que presenció en Estados Unidos contenía una verdad cuya preeminencia en los asuntos de gobierno humano era tanto oportuna, a nivel histórico, e imparable. Hoy, creo, presenciamos una experiencia paralela — un ideal imparable — en la creación de una identidad humana colectiva. Somos un pueblo. Todavía no en la práctica, pero en la verdad.

Compañera de esta noción efervescente de ciudadanía mundial y de la unidad fundamental de la raza humana es la apreciación de la diversidad de las culturas del mundo, construyendo un patrimonio global enorme y colectivo.

Los artistas que he incluido proceden de Irán, Sudáfrica, el sur de Texas y la zona de la Bahía de San Francisco. Cada artista hace preguntas sobre su propia identidad al fotografiar grupos específicos de personas basados en definiciones culturales, raciales o nacionales, y a su vez piden a la audiencia que reflexione sobre estas mismas preguntas.

Commentary/Comentario fashion styles as personal expressions of shifting identities as young, urban black Africans. Youth culture in particular represents a sort of global vanguard of changing definitions about race.

Sanaz Mazinani is a Persian refugee living in Canada. Her project, is her attempt to understand the homeland and the people from which she was forcibly separated as a young woman. Her subtle portraits are gently balanced by metaphor-laden photographs of personal domestic effects found in the homes of her relatives.

Nontsikelelo Veleko es una joven mujer negra de sudafrica que ha sido criticada por salirse de los límites de sus demografía racial y étnica en forma parecida a la que describe Myra Greene.

Sus fotografías de jóvenes sudafricanos se concentran en su ropa y estilos amalgamados de moda como expresiones personales de identidades cambiantes. La cultura adolescente en particular representa una especie de vanguardia global de definiciones cambiantes sobre la raza.

Hank Willis Thomas gained recognition for his Br@nded series, in which he slyly dissects the use of racial stereotypes in advertising. In this issue, his Unbranded work explores advertising and media representations from the past several decades of African American men and women, asking us to become conscious of the role that race and stereotypes play in consumerism.

Sanaz Mazinani es una refugiada persa que reside en Canadá.

Su proyecto, Iran Re:Visited (Irán re:visitado), es su esbozo de entender su patria y la gente de la que fue separada cuando era una joven. Sus retratos sutiles son equilibrados suavemente por fotografías, cargadas de metáforas, de efectos personales domésticos hallados en las casas de sus parientes.

Ian Ramirez presents a suite of head-and-shoulder portraits of migrant Mexican workers in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The photographs of men waiting to be hired in the bitter cold are reminiscent of modeling head-shots used in the fashion industry: For aspiring models, head-shots are calling cards in a cut-throat profession.

These migrant men face the same bitter odds, but with their very livelihood at stake, raising questions about group identity versus ethnic and class identity.

Hank Willis Thomas obtuvo renombre por su serie Br@nded (M@rcado), en la que disecciona astutamente el uso de estereotipos raciales en los anuncios. En este número, su obra Unbranded (Demarcado) explora representaciones de afroamericanos en anuncios comerciales y medios informativos durante numerosas décadas, pidiéndonos que seamos conscientes del papel que la raza y los estereotipos juegan en el consumismo.

In the act of curating, whether it be for an exhibition or a magazine, one has certain responsibilities to the audience. First and foremost is the responsibility to present work that one believes to be intelligent, solid and engaging. Secondly is the obligation to be open about ones own personal stance. The editors at Nueva Luz presented me with an opportunity to address a potentially thorny but infinitely rewarding topic in a national publication. I am thankful for their trust.

To my mind, it has become abundantly clear that a collective vision for humanity's future is needed, one that acknowledges the vast cultural and historic diversity of human experience.

The arts, whose role has ever been to reflect, inspire and uplift, will prove paramount to this exciting endeavor.

Darius Himes

Ian Ramírez presenta una suite de retratos de cabeza y hombros de jornaleros migrantes mexicanos en Santa Fe, Nuevo México.

Las fotografías de hombres a la espera de ser contratados en un frío brutal recuerdan a los retratos utilizados en la industria de la moda. Para los aspirantes modelos, los retratos de cara son tarjetas de visita en una profesión implacable. Estos jornaleros se enfrentan a las mismas probabilidades amargas, pero con su misma subsistencia en juego, provocando así preguntas sobre la identidad de grupo contra las identidades de clase y etnia.

En el acto de conservar, ya sea para una exhibición o una revista, uno tiene ciertas responsabilidades hacia la audiencia. Primero que todo está la responsabilidad de presentar obras que uno cree que son inteligentes, sólidas e interesantes. Segundo está la obligación de estar abierto sobre la posición personal de uno. Los editores de Nueva Luz me presentaron con una oportunidad de dirigirme a una temática potencialmente espinosa pero infinitamente gratificante en una publicación nacional. Les agradezco su confianza.

Para mí, es abundantemente claro que es necesaria una visión colectiva para el futuro de la humanidad, una visión que reconozca la amplia e histórica diversidad de la experiencia humana. Las artes, que siempre han tenido el papel de reflejar, inspirar y elevar, demostrarán ser importantes para este emocionante empeño.

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Sanaz Mazinani, Motorist, Tehran, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2006. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

Artist Statement “Today, over a quarter century after the Islamic Revolution, more than fifty percent of Iran’s population is under the age of twenty five. This new generation is steadily pushing against the set boundaries, fighting against the clergy and working hard to hold on to their traditions. Others are fighting against the surge of western popular culture as they struggle to find their own identities. The photographs in this series afford us a privileged glimpse of the multitude of ideologies that overlap in contemporary Iran.

I explore the physical landscape and human faces in Iran_Re:Visited. Each image contains its own narrative qualities, but together, the images create a complex portrait of Iran, its landscape, and the people who inhabit it. In this work, I deliberately refuse to romanticize my culture, and try to strip away the prevailing imagery of "The Other:" the desert, the veiled woman.

Here, the complexity of Iranian society refuses to be reduced to the question of hejab, but instead must be understood in terms of the competing forces of tradition and change. In exploring the multiplicity of political attitudes, I aim to reveal the reality of life in Iran with all its contradictions and ambiguities, exploring the trans-cultural attitudes and habits that exist as a result of the expanse of globalization.�

Sanaz Mazinani

Images courtesy of the artist and Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, Canada.

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Sanaz Mazinani

Scale, Amol, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2006. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

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Sanaz Mazinani Flowers, Tajrish, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2004. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

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Sanaz Mazinani Discussion, Sohaanak, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2006. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

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Sanaz Mazinani Lamp, Hotel Aboo-Ali, Hamedan City, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2004. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

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Sanaz Mazinani Matriarch of Family, Ahmad-Abaad, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2006. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

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Sanaz Mazinani Parisa, Amol, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2006. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

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Sanaz Mazinani Pilgrims to Khomeini’s Memorial, Beheshte-Zahra, Shahre Rey, Iran_Re:Visited series, 2006. Chromogenic print, 23x23"

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Ian Ramirez, 1a, Heroes series, 2007. C-print, 20x16"; 5a, Heroes series, 2007. C-print, 20x16"

Artist Statement My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb and all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them.

Gnarls Barkley

“Heroes. Ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances: they traveled thousands of miles to a foreign country, next to nothing in their pockets, no one waiting for them, unable to speak the language. Living in a pseudo-transient state, often not able to own anything more than the clothes on their backs, they come with simple dreams and ambitions.

The men in these photographs evoke my father’s workers from my childhood.

I remember their days spent on construction sites, their evenings playing cards.

These men were my friends, mentors and extended family. We shared a first language; the language of my grandmother.

This ongoing series, Heroes, had its inception in my childhood. An exercise in revealing my collective inspirations, it is also a study of the man next door.”

Ian Ramirez

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Ian Ramirez

Top, Left to Right: 15a, Heroes series, 2007; 9a, Heroes series, 2007; 3a, Heroes series, 2007.

Bottom, Left to Right: 10a, Heroes series, 2007; 11a, Heroes series, 2007; 12a, Heroes series, 2007. All are C-prints, 20x16"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko, Hloni, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

Artist Statement “I'm totally urban, and I love what happens in urban environments. My work is not far-fetched. It's something simple, something people know, but don't actually think is important until they've seen it in a photograph. Somehow photography seems to make it more important. My work is fun, and interspersed with many layers - it could be complicated, but I try not to let it go there.

In other projects I have looked at how fashion constructs identity – but when it comes to one's true identity in South Africa it becomes problematic, especially when dealing with mixed relationships and mixed backgrounds. In this series, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, I didn't want to deal with it from that point of view. I always look at fashion as play. My clothes aren't me. And people who really know me, know me. But people who think they know me, know my style...”

Nontsikelelo Veleko

Images courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Nontsikelelo Veleko

Sibu VIII, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06.

Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Hugo, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Thobeka II, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Thabo C, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Thulani, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Sibu V, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Cindy and Nkuli, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Kepi II, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Nontsikelelo Veleko Thato, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder series, 2003-06. Pigment print on cotton paper, 12x8"

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Hank Willis Thomas, We Are On Our Way, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1970/2008. Lightjet print, 34x30"

Artist Statement “Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 is a series of 82 images taken from magazine advertisements targeting a black audience or featuring black subjects, which I digitally manipulated and appropriated. In this project I have removed all aspects of the advertising information - text, logos, etc. - in order to reveal what’s being sold. Nothing more has been altered.

I believe that in part, advertising's success rests on its ability to reinforce generalizations around race, gender and ethnicity which can be entertaining, sometimes true, and sometimes horrifying, but which at a core level are a reflection of the way a culture views itself or its aspirations.

By unbranding advertisements I can literally expose what Roland Barthes refers to as 'what-goes-without-saying' in ads, and hopefully encourage viewers to look harder and think deeper about the empire of signs that have become second nature to our experience of life in the modern world.�

Hank Willis Thomas

Images courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York City.

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Hank Willis Thomas

The Oft Forgotten Flower Children of Harlem, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1969/2006. Lightjet print, 34x28"

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Hank Willis Thomas When the Going Gets Hard, the Whiskey Should be Soft, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1972/2007. Lightjet print, 31x30"

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Hank Willis Thomas Smokin Joe Ain't J'mama, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1978/2006. Lightjet print, 31x30"

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Hank Willis Thomas Who Can Say No to a Gorgeous Brunette?, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1970/2007. Lightjet print, 31x30"

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Hank Willis Thomas The Liberation of T.O.: I'm not goin' back to work for massa' in dat darned field!, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 2003/2005. Lightjet print, 34x30"

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Hank Willis Thomas Martin Luther Burger King?, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1986/2007. Lightjet print, 36x28"

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Hank Willis Thomas Welcome to Full Contact Culture, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 2007/2008. Lightjet print, 36x26"

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Hank Willis Thomas It's a Great American Custom, Unbranded: Reflections in Black from Corporate America 1968-2008 series, 1995/2008. Lightjet print, 36x28"

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Contributors

©Miriam Romais

Born in 1974 in Brownsville, Texas, Ian Ramirez studied at The Film School in Scottsdale Community College, at Santa Fe Community College and at Camberwell College of Art in London, England. His work has been shown at Unit D and Verve Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. Santa Fe has been his home for the past eight years where he has worked with various art organizations such as SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe Center for Photography, Photo-Eye, Firefly Studios, and Unit D where he curated photographic exhibitions.

IAN RAMIREZ

© self portrait

Born in 1978 in Tehran, Iran, Sanaz Mazinani received her Fine Arts degree from the Ontario College of Art & Design in 2003. Her work has been shown at the AIPAD Armory Show in New York, NY; PhotoMiami in Miami, FL; Carnegie Gallery and AWOL Gallery in Toronto, Canada. She is represented

by Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto. Mazinani is the recipient of the Ontario Arts Council's Emerging Artist Grant and the Toronto Image Works Award. She is currently collaborating with art writer Gary Michael Dault on a monograph titled Book Book. She has created programs for the CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival, and is currently working on a curatorial project which deals with war and artists’ expressions of its consequences. www.sanazmazinani.net

SANAZ MAZINANI

© self portrait

Born in 1977 in Bodibe, South Africa, Nontsikelelo Veleko attended the Market Photography Workshop from 1999 to 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has exhibited her work at Goodman Gallery and the Women's Art Festival in Johannesburg; The Kuppel in Basel, Switzerland; the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Kyle Kauffman Gallery, and Danziger Projects in New York, NY. In 2008 she received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award and in 2007, a residency at the International Photography Research Network (IPRN) in Sunderland, UK. Her work has been published in Woman by Woman: 50 Years of Women's Photography in South Africa (Wits University Press, Johannesburg: 2006), among others.

Born in 1976, Hank Willis Thomas earned a B.F.A. from New York University in 1998, and an M.A. and M.F.A. from California College of the Arts in 2004. His work has been shown at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, CT; The Studio Museum in Harlem and Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, NY; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, CA and High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA, among others. He received a Media Arts Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation in 2007 and a NYFA Fellowship in 2006. Residencies include The Headlands Center for the Arts, CA; Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture, MN; Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris in France; and Light Work in Syracuse, NY. He is a recipient of the Aperture West Book Prize, and as a result his first monograph Pitch Blackness will be published by Aperture (November 2008). www.hankwillisthomas.com

© M. Mangahas

NONTSIKELELO VELEKO

HANK WILLIS THOMAS

©Miriam Romais

Darius Himes is a founding member of Radius Books, a non-profit, Santa Fe-based organization created in 2007 that publishes books on the visual arts, where he works as an editor. Prior to that, he was the founding editor of photo-eye Booklist, a quarterly magazine devoted to photography books, from 2002-2007. He is also a lecturer, consultant, curator, educator and writer, and has contributed to Blind Spot, Bookforum, BOMB, PDN, and American Photo. He earned his B.F.A. in Photography from Arizona State University and an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College, and actively pursues his own photographic image-making. www.dariushimes.com

DARIUS HIMES

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Intercambio

A Space for Dialogue

Kathryn Cook, untitled, Memory Denied series, 2007. Inkjet print, 20x24"

The Armenian Holy Cross Church, built in the 10th century by an Armenian King, is seen from a ferryboat on the island of Akhtamar in Lake Van, Turkey. The church is possibly the most precious symbol of Armenian presence in Turkey and is a popular pilgrimage site today.

WAR

For me, it began with a personal project in Bosnia – a long-term exploration of the aftermath of the 1992-95 war that tore that country apart. I worked on the project for four years and was fortunate enough, in the end, to have a book published of the photographs I had made. I also became keenly aware of the fact that one book about the aftermath of one war that had been widely ignored wasn’t going to make a huge difference in the world.

IS ONLY HALF THE STORY

by Sara Terry

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And I wanted to make a difference – I wanted to see a change in the way the media covers conflict. I wanted to see more stories told about the aftermath of conflict, the kinds of stories that must be told if we are ever to understand the true cost of war and the real price of peace.

What I understood was that war is only half the story – and the only way I could figure out how to be part of the change, was to start a grant program to help photographers cover the aftermath of conflict – whether it’s the aftermath of an urban riot or the aftermath of full-scale war.

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Kathryn Cook, untitled, Memory Denied series, 2008. Inkjet print, 20x24"

A priest's frock dries in the sun at the Armenian abbey in Jerusalem. Thousands of Armenian refugees arrived in Jerusalem after surviving deportations from Ottoman Turkey in 1915, arriving at the convents and churches for shelter.

Since 2007, The Aftermath Project has given grants to photographers who are working in documentary, fine art or photojournalism.

Through exhibitions, educational outreach and publications, we aim to change the way the story of conflict is told – to be part of creating a new dialogue about war, in which telling the story of aftermath is as important as telling the story of war itself. The Aftermath Project dares to imagine a world in which photographers are able to pursue the story of peace as rigorously as they have pursued the story of war for more than a century; a changed media environment in which those who tell those stories are supported and recognized through assignments and awards – an environment, in other words, which recognizes the “news” in aftermath.

many ways. Cook grasps the heart of what the Aftermath Project is all about through her exploration of the ongoing reverberations of a genocide that happened nearly a century ago – and which continues to have an impact on regional and global politics today.

With our first book published1 and the current posting of our application for the 2009 grants, I wanted to reflect on work that has stayed with me because of the issues it raised and the way the photographers proposed approaching them.

Kathryn Cook’s winning project, Memory Denied: Turkey and the Armenian Genocide, is quite an astonishing accomplishment in

She does it by exploring memory – an ambiguous and elusive enough muse in the most innocent of reflections on the past, but in this case focused on the dark (and still denied by Turkey) history of those bloody purges. Working in black-and-white, re-visiting places where people lived and died decades ago, Cook’s images reveal a subtle picture, a narrative of glimpses that might exist only in the minds of those who remember, or who have heard firsthand the account of what happened during the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.

It’s a significant achievement.

Among the applicants who didn’t make it into our final five category, I think often of Jung Eun Lee's project Ianfu, about the 20,000 young Korean girls who were turned into “comfort women” by the Japanese during World War II.

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Jung Eun Lee, Shrouds No. 1, Ianfu: The Comfort Women Project, 2008.

Jung Eun Lee, Shrouds No. 5, Ianfu: The Comfort Women Project, 2007.

Gelatin silver print, 20x16"

Gelatin silver print, 20x16"

In delicate black-and-white still-lifes – including one of a special fabric used as a shroud at funerals – she uses minimalism and restraint to imagine the emotional and physical violence experienced by these women. It’s a powerful project, a wonderful example of a fine art photographer conceptualizing and approaching difficult aftermath issues.

We also recognize that photographers in majority world countries don’t have the same access to resources that many Western photographers have. One of our future goals is to create a permanent grant, as part of our annual competition, that will be open only to photographers from the majority world. In the meantime, we are looking for creative proposals from a diverse group of photographers from around the world.

And for completely different reasons, Karim Ben Khelifa’s work stays with me, too. His project Islam in America, is a thoughtful, surprising series that examines Islam on U.S. soil through stories that don’t often appear in the mainstream press. Karim proposed photo essays like Rock the Mosque, about Muslim punk rockers; Olé Allah, about Latino Muslims; and A Terrorist in Hollywood, about an Egyptian actor repeatedly cast in stereotypical roles.

The work he submitted with his application showed a keen eye for cultural dissonance and a sharp awareness of what it means to be the “other” in mainstream societies.

These photographers are part of what inspires me to continue building The Aftermath Project. Our long-term goal is a $5 million endowment, so that the organization will become a self-perpetuating institution. I think it takes this kind of long-term vision to accomplish the change we want to see. We believe that any photographer, anywhere, has the right to explore and illumine aftermath issues, regardless of culture or country of origin.

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War is indeed only half the story –– and there are so many more stories that must be told.

1

War is Only Half the Story, Volume One: Aperture, NY, 2008.

The 2009 deadline for the AFTERMATH PROJECT is November 3, 2008.

Application information is available at www.theaftermathproject.org

Intercambio

Karim Ben Khelifa, untitled, OlĂŠ Allah series, 2008.

Karim Ben Khelifa, untitled, OlĂŠ Allah series, 2008.

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Critical Mass

En Foco Touring Gallery Exhibitions Review: Arlette Landestoy

by Ricky Flores

WEEKEND VISITORS TO INWOOD HILL PARK: THE DOMINICAN PEOPLE Photographs by Arlette Landestoy On view through October 31, 2008 At the Bronx Library Center/NY Public Library 310 East Kingsbridge Road Bronx, NY 10458

Arlette Landestoy, Stars and Stripes, Weekend Visitors to Inwood Hill Park: The Dominican People series, 2008. Gelatin silver print, 10x10”

As a recent graduate from City College, Arlette Landestoy became concerned with the gentrification of her predominantly Dominican neighborhood and began to look at her community more closely. "For the 23 years that I have lived in Inwood, the parks have seemed relatively empty and quiet. But when the warm weather hits, the Dominican people start to pour into the parks, as if it's a reminder of the island left behind. This year, I started to document this gathering.”

Through making these photographs, she immersed herself in a rich social experience. She has captured her community with a growing sense of pride and reclaimed what she missed in her youth.

By focusing on young men playing basketball or children in water fountains, she has experienced a feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood thriving in her neighborhood. Although she once felt like an outsider, she is now welcomed with her camera – at her people's behest, and to her solace.

After spending time photographing in the park, her views of what it meant to be Dominican began to change. In her youth, Arlette experienced a distancing from her community. She later chose a high school that reinforced this sense of separation.

Save the Dates

Ricky Flores is a staff photographer for The Journal News and an advisory board member for En Foco.

October 19 Artist Talk with Hank Willis Thomas and Sara Terry.

Organized by En Foco and the Lucie Foundation

October 23-25 PDN Photo Expo.

Register with Code: ENFC1 and visit En Foco at booth #1061.

To find out about more En Foco events visit

www.enfoco.org

Nu e va L uz photographic journal Published by En Foco, Inc. 1738 Hone Avenue Bronx, NY 10461 718/931-9311 www.enfoco.org

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