Photo Collaboration University Without Walls Students x Olivia Mikolai Ridge
Marshall Stewart x Olivia Ridge
Correspondence
Marshall Stewart x Olivia Ridge
Correspondence
Today We Dance With and For Them, 2022, Marshall Stewart and Olivia Ridge
First Correspondence Q & A
02/02/22 & 02/24/22
MS: I’d like to be seen as a servant of Jesus Christ who is Native American. I would like the image to reflect and magnify my heritage spiritually (as Christ’s) and physically (as Native American and Mexican). What is usually not known about me is that I was adopted by my Mexican-American family at infancy; thus I speak, read, write, preach, and sing in Spanish.
OR: Describe the best photograph of yourself. This photograph can be imagined or real.
MS: My last family photo in 2005 is one I covet for a few reasons: it includes all of my children, my huge Galaviz adoptive family, and me holding my child. I am a doting Dad, and now even with my adult children I still dote.
OR: Is there a real or historical place you would like to be photographed? Imagine you can be photographed in any place or setting that holds meaning for you. What would you change your photo ID background to, if it could be anything? A background can be a place, a color, a design, or entirely fictional. How does this setting relate to how you want to be seen?
MS: I’d pray to dance in a Powwow with my children. This holds meaning for me because I am a registered member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa Indians, and I have yet to dance with my now-adult children.
OR: What is your relationship to your State ID photo (like it, hate it)? Would you change or edit your State ID photo if you could? If so, what would you do?
MS: My relationship to my State ID is dissonance because it reflects pain and scars associated with my arrest, torture, and hospitalization while in CPD custody. As IDOC mandates a “no smile” policy for photos, I often wonder what my smile looks like now. Also, I’d like to change my hairstyle because we rarely have access to a barber.
03/08/22
Hi Marshall,
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I had to track down photos from graduation to see your smile – Jason shared a folder from the graduation ceremony with me. There are some great pictures in there! I attached them to this letter. I see one big toothy smile and another where your smile is more subtle, but you look happy. Do you have copies of these photos? How do you feel about them?
I am compelled by the way you describe yourself as a father through the simple action of you holding a child. In thinking of ways to make an image that is meaningful and representative of you, I wonder if there are elements of the image you describe of dancing with your children at a Powwow that I could take for you on the outside. I think a lot about what photography can and cannot do. What I hope to offer through this project is a photograph that is made for you, one that you actually want. One of the difficulties of this project is not being able to take a photograph of you. Knowing that any recreation of this image cannot satisfy the real, I’d like to know more about the image you describe.
In your next letter, I’d love to hear more about each of your children, your relationship to where they are now, and how you envision them in a photograph. Which of your children is most like you? Do your children go to Powwows? Where are they held? I’ve heard that some sacred ceremonies are not meant to be photographed. Are there other locations that would be meaningful to your heritage? I wonder about the value of photography here – if it would bring satisfaction or disappointment to recreate parts of the image you describe.
Looking forward to your response,
Olivia
UWW Graduation Ceremony 2019
Photos courtesy Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project
Thank you for researching NEIU graduation photos. I do have copies. I think they are ok, not as good as the photos with Lauren Daigle when my choir at Stateville performed with her. My favorite NEIU photo is one with