Lynn Sadlon

Artist Statement

I appreciate and am drawn to, "street" images, where the photographer captures the humor, the irony, the visual juxtaposition of a moment in time, often with little or no manipulation of the image. The bodega cat, lounging on a case of tuna tins; the beefy merchant placing pouffy dolls in his display; a fence in the Arizona desert made from old bedsprings or the fashion doll abandoned on a fence post have captured my eye.

More than 40 years ago, friends and I visited a festival run by the parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in the Bronx's Little Italy, a church bazaar filled with games of chance, raffles, and the marvelous smell of frying peppers. Men carried statues of saints through the streets and congregants attached dollar bills at their feet, praying and placing offerings for a better chance in life.
Digitizing some of my old Kodachromes, renewed my interest and I began documenting current day festivals which I feared would soon be dying out as Catholic church parishes closed or consolidated. Instead, to my surprise, what I often found was a dedicated group of volunteers, as in the past, many first- or second- generation immigrants, who worked to keep the traditions and the stories of the saints alive, providing a fun escape in an attempt to attract new congregants and funds to support their church.

These photos taken together tell a story. My hope is to collect the images into a book as a document to the changes that have occurred — as well as the traditions of our immigrant communities that have endured.