Photographer and UH alumnus Ben DeSoto sits on the DiverseWorks main gallery floor, and takes out a snowglobe. He says to imagine two 25-year-olds: one has a stable, relatively trauma-free life, and one doesn’t. He shakes it up. The city can barely be seen. When trauma hits a person who has repeatedly suffered, he says, it shakes up the present, and stirs history. How long would it take for the dust to settle? This is the crux for the Understanding Poverty exhibition, on view until Nov. 1.
Clint Willour curate the show, selecting black and white as well as color images. De Soto whittled down photos from an initial 600 documenting his 20-year relationship with Houston’s homeless.
Ann Sieber, a writer and editor rounded out the show, handpicking words from novels, past presidents, world leaders and thematically relevant volumes within the series.
Half of the four-part exhibition focuses on the lives of Ben White and Judy Pruitt, two Houstonians that De Soto met in 1988.
Months later, in December, De Soto met Pruitt on the Montrose streets.
White’s grandmother was born a slave. He spent his childhood in Freedman’s Town, living with his aunt, Ruth White. His mother died when he was three. He has spent 17 of the last 20 years in prison.
He has been stabbed in the back a dozen times. He also injured his neck while working in prison. White is serving a felony charge following a mandatory minimum sentence after committing his third misdemeanor in 1993. He won’t be up for parole again until 2010.
Pruitt has also been to jail, seen eviction notices and worked as a prostitute. Her son, Joshua, is under the care of his grandmother. She also lost a daughter, Antionette, in a 2007 courtroom to the care of the Texas Youth Commission, the same year the organization was making headlines for abuse and neglect, conditions Pruitt had fled 25 years earlier.
Drugs were the culture of the streets, the third part of the exhibition’s focus. In one shot, a call girl exposes her breast, bruised after a beating from a john who offered extra money to hit her. Another shows the body of a person lying beaten on the ground.
Photos also include close-ups of track mark-ridden arms, and young people smoking crack. He used the term "emotional literacy" to discuss what is lacking in the lives of those he has come across, an issue many institutions are trying to respond to, as shown in the fourth part of the exhibition.
Among those involved is Dr. David Buck with Healthcare for the Homeless. De Soto described Buck as a champion for the homeless, and said one-to-two thirds of those affected could be reintegrated into society to live fulfilling lives.
The Understanding Poverty Project is part of a movement to help and to educate the public about homelessness. The exhibition would not have been possible without the Houston Endowment fund or the Que Foundation.
Service of the Emergency Aid Resource Center for the Homeless is also contributing to the effort. SEARCH is holding a food drive in conjunction with the show. To donate, one can drop off nonperishable items at the gallery from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
DiverseWorks is located at 1117 East Freeway. For more information, call (713) 223-8346. Be sure to visit De Soto’s Web site as well at zendfoto.com to view the photos and learn more about the UPP.
