ICP Review: Perpetual Revolution

Many of the people of our generation are painfully unaware of important current events, both domestic and international. Though there are many factors that contribute to this, one problem is that there is no engaging way to get the younger generation invested in these important problems. Most of the news that people consume on a daily basis isn’t all that interesting. It tends to go in one ear and out the other. However, the “Perpetual Revolution: Image and Social Change” exhibit at the International Center of Photography is something completely different. It will leave you feeling completely “shook,” using powerful imagery to bring some of the world’s most glaring problems to life.

The International Center of Photography is renowned as one of the leading centers for photography and features exhibits that demonstrate the power that photos and videos have in shaping the modern world. “Perpetual Revolution: The Image and Social Change,” curated by Carol Squiers and Cynthia Young, opened on January 27, 2017, and will run until May 7. Tickets are $10 for students, and it is located at 250 Bowery in Manhattan.

The scope of this exhibit is so large that it almost seems impossible to grasp upon first glance. It covers some incredibly important and pressing issues of the modern age: climate change, the refugee crisis, LGBTQ+ representation/treatment, #blacklivesmatter, islamophobia, and the far-right fringe. This incredibly diverse range of topics gives the viewer a sense of overload which only adds to the emotional and intellectual gravitas of the exhibit. However, the sheer volume also impairs the viewer’s capability of ingesting and retaining all of the incredible work that is deserving of his or her full attention.

After you buy your ticket ($10 not wasted), you open the door and are greeted with a large wall filled with text. This concise, well-written introduction to the entire exhibit describes the importance of truth (or lack thereof) in the modern age and unpacks what it means to be “correct,” especially in a world with “alternative facts” and “post-truth-ism.”

The room is rather dim and cool, and it seems a bit cold and detached, rather than being warm and inviting. This visual aesthetic works to the exhibit’s advantage, however, as it emphasizes the gravity of the topics discussed and leaves no time to be comfortable with these situations.

One of the central parts of the exhibits pertains to the refugee crisis. This section of the exhibit is one of the most diverse in terms of media. The centerpiece of this section is a table with some white sand on top of it. It seems very strange at first, but when you see the projector displaying powerful images of the refugee crisis onto the sand, it starts to make sense. You can manipulate the sand in whatever way you’d like to distort the images projected on it. It highlights the fact that refugees are everyday people who led normal lives prior to their displacement. This piece shows the magnitude and spread of the crisis and how it affects so many people around the world. The moldable sand is very symbolic of the fact that we have the power to mold and shape our own world.

The photography of this section is magnificent and the tension and pain that is captured is stunning. Each picture encapsulates so much action: the rawest and purest forms of human emotion. There is also an e-book available to read as part of the exhibit, along with a slideshow of five incredible photos broken up into nine panels. Although all of the different media make the exhibit seem a bit scattered, it works brilliantly, with everything linking together and the concepts cohesive and powerful.

As you walk downstairs, you enter the section on LGBTQ+ treatment and representation. This section of the exhibit is almost completely dominated by screens, which is one of the few things that I am not a fan of. The number of screens makes it a bit too much to take in.

Screenshots of activism on social media, old music videos, pictures of the LGBTQ+ community before their rights were granted, and modern day examples of the community being ostracized dominate this section, and to great effect. The differences in time period serve as a critical reminder to the public that despite the progress that has been made, there is still so much work to be done and still so many parallels between the past and the present in terms of the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. This section is also a lot more free-flowing than the rest of the exhibit. This part of the exhibit is very “loud” as it is plainly sexual, and it moves in a much less somber manner.

The most powerful and well crafted part of this exhibit pertains to #blacklivesmatter. The room is painted completely black and is dimly lit, with one wall used as a screen for two incredible collections of footage. One side of the wall displays photographs of the black community of the USA from all different time periods. These pictures are full of striking juxtapositions that make them shine as proof of the struggles the black community has faced.

The videos shown on the wall are simply amazing. They are composed of both footage from protests and politically charged pop culture. The way that these videos are put together is astonishing. The videos link seamlessly, all circling back to the central point of the struggles faced by the black community. The issues that it addresses are disheartening, yet also empowering. The way the story is told makes you want to do something to make a difference. There was no holding back in the creation of this much needed wake up call.

The last, and perhaps the least expected section of this exhibit, discusses the far-right fringe, in a very peculiar, yet effective way. How do they tell us about the horrors of these neo-Nazi, fascist edgelords? Through memes. The memes are all related to downplaying liberalism and how “politically correct” people need to be “gassed,” all the while laced with plenty of expletives. It’s an unconventional way to communicate such serious and scary ideas, but it works brilliantly, as memes are something that almost all can relate to, and seeing them used in such a politically charged way really demonstrates a new age of poking fun at the unlaughable.

After viewing this entire exhibit, you’ll feel a bit tired. You’ll also feel a bit scared for the world. But perhaps most importantly, you will feel hopeful. Hopeful at the fact that people took the time out of their lives to put together such a vast, powerful exhibit to educate others about the horrors of the world and what we can do to respect and change them. And hopeful because people take the time out of their lives to visit and appreciate it. The technique that is used here, throwing everything at the viewer so it feels inescapable, almost suffering, is used to great effect here.

Especially in a time of great political tension, everyone deserves to be, and needs to be, updated when it comes to current events. With politics becoming more and more relevant in our daily lives and as young people who will eventually inherit this earth, it is our responsibility to not turn a blind eye to the current state of affairs. Young people must take these important matters into their own hands and educate themselves about the world that they will be responsible for.