Abstract: The Art of Design

An image from “The People’s Portfolio” that brough me close to my emotions is the one of the little girl with a shirt saying “Free my dad” in the “US Immigration: Families Torn Apart” folder. Here, the little girl and the shirt portrays a message that her father has been taken by ICE or the United States government because that man is an immigrant. The little girl’s face demonstrates the emotion that are going through her head, mostly sadness, over her father missing. I cannot express how important a father is in a young girl’s life. To this day, I will never understand the discrimination the United government places on immigrants, who are only looking for a better life with better opportunities. This image made me feel emotionally because I could not imagine a life without my father, especially one where I don’t know where he is and if he is alright. 

            I believe Platon is a great photographer and is able to capture the emotions of the people being photographed. I believe this is the most important quality that a photographer should have in order to become successful and to be a phenomenal photographer. All the pictures in the Portfolio move us viewers because of the reality that these pictures demonstrate. With the immigration pictures folder, he is able to capture the emotions that these people go through every day because the government is not willing to help them. As the website says, the system is completely broken, but nobody in the government is looking to fix it. I believe these photographs are a cry for help from Platon to other citizens to see what is happening under their noses and to try to inspire them to take action. 

In this picture, I am sitting down in the Riverwalk, specifically in the docs at 11’oclock at night. This picture was taken during the weekend by a friend of mine before she knew this was going to be a part of my assignment. These last few weeks, I have visited the docks at night regularly to find some hours of peace and even, friendly conversations. This is a place where I connect with nature and other people at the same time. Looking out at the river and being surrounded by trees somehow calms me down enough to have deeper talks while with friends. We jump from conversation to conversation, exploring different topics that we hadn’t touched on before. I don’t know why we feel inclined to do that only there at the riverwalk, but I am not about to question it. When I go alone, I normally take a book, or I just sit there to think about anything that has been on my mind. In the picture, it is clear how comfortable I feel and how I stare at the colors of the lights in the river. Therefore, I believe that his photograph, even though it was taken by a friend, portrays my comfort and connection to nature when I sit at the docks in front of the riverwalk.