The Art - Photography
Pizza and Games in the Suburbs Gallery
2011
A friend of my (then thirteen-year-old) son was having a birthday celebration at a pizza and games place in the suburbs, so I qualify these images as "in the suburbs" as, in Atlanta, due to white flight to the suburbs in the 60s and 70s, inside the perimeter culture has been distinct from outside the perimeter politically and often culturally, OTP tending to be more conservative. But it also needs to be considered that "race" does not automatically define political and religious interests and allegiances. And that with rapid development and gentrification inside the perimeter skyrocketing housing/rental costs, there has been also a population shift so that to live inner city, in 2019, is costlier than living outside the perimeter, with the exception of the suburbs to the north of the city where my son's friend was having his party. Carnivals and game parlors are nothing new but the aesthetics of the family and child oriented environment are interesting to dissect. I think it's careless to presume too much when looking at a photo--my son (who is not a gamer) and his friend were partying, enjoying one another's company, just having a good time, as with others in these photos--but it's undeniable that an image of a man playing a game with a big gun is going to conjure a certain read regardless of what is the target.
