WUNRN
Romania, Sarbi - Photo - First
Plowing
"A good man will
plow four acres in a day. A good woman will be sure his fried bread and soup
arrive at lunch time still hot from home."
Photo by Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin
KATHLEEN LARAIA MC LAUGHLIN
http://www.klmphoto.com/Vita.htm
Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin
|
In my work I photograph people who have a deep felt sense of tradition. For a year of days beginning in the Autumn of 1999, I lived in a remote village in the Maramuresh region of northern Transylvania, Romania. This area came to my attention through my love of Balkan Folk Dancing. My research revealed the Maramuresh region to be unique amongst the former Soviet Bloc for the way it had preserved its way of life. After World War II, for forty years of communist rule, a few valleys in Maramuresh escaped collectivized farming because of poor soil and hilly landscape. In
the post cold-war period, preservation continues because of pervasive
impoverishment which slows the advancement of modernity into the reaches of
northern Transylvania. But nothing will stand still forever. While the older
generation still don winter footwear that pre-date the Romans, the younger
generation flock to market to buy shoes bearing that ubiquitous swoosh of
western manufacture. In our modern world, we often feel we have ÒlostÓ something important, something precious. Though they do not know it now, these peasants are losing their customs in the same way our forebears lost theirs. They do not see themselves as beautiful or special, because they feel poor and ordinary. But I hope to show they embody beauty because of the way they have spent their days walking paths trodden by their grandparents. Because of the way their lives have become well worn like an old wooden spoon. |
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