Active in local union and political circles for years, Clarke Condé has heard plenty about the economy from economists and politicians.
“I wanted to hear from the people,” he said, “and have a conversation about the economy every single day ... (but) I just wanted to ask, ‘How’s your job?,’ ‘How’s making a living in the city?,’ ‘How’s work?’”
The answers he got “are far more interesting that what you’d normally hear,” Condé said. “What surprised me was not simply what they said, but what they didn’t ... No one mentioned Albany, mandates or public employee unions ... not taxes, even.”
Daily, throughout 2011, Condé interviewed and photographed people at work in Rochester.
The answers to his questions were more basic, about how a boss treats them, when their paycheck would come in, if they’d get out of work in time to pick up their kids from school, whether there was room to advance in their job, and about new customers and coworkers, Condé said.
He ended up creating a unique collection of photographs — 365 of them, or one for each day of the year — that focus on the men and women who work in the City of Rochester.
He didn’t go on vacation. He stayed in Rochester to photograph someone every day.
He compiled the photographs he took into a new book, simply titled “Work in Rochester,” that was out in April and featured during a corresponding exhibition at the Rochester Contemporary gallery. Yet, it ... seems particularly significant with Labor Day earlier this month.
Some of the people he photographed may not reside in the city — he didn’t ask that question — but the common denominator is that they all work in Rochester, Condé said, explaining, “the city is the heart of this community.”
He also found that most people like their jobs, “or are at least proud of the work they do,” Condé said.
The photographs speak for themselves, and in some cases offer thought-provoking contrasts. They are simply identified by the day Condé captured each image. Short captions giving just the subject’s first name, do describe a little bit of each conversation he had.
“It (the book) is something of a time capsule, too,” Condé said, since it does also capture people and events of 2011 — from a person carrying a sign about the state’s passage of the marriage equality act to the demolition of Midtown Plaza.
Condé estimates that he probably shot 25,000 photographs to end up with the 365 in the book.
“I really wanted to focus on this community and the people who actually work here ... the economy at ground level,” Condé said. “It’s a book that works on a number of levels ... I like to think it broadens the discussion (about the economy) ... It needs to be in the hands of the people who actually work in Rochester.”
Active in local union and political circles for years, Clarke Condé has heard plenty about the economy from economists and politicians.
“I wanted to hear from the people,” he said, “and have a conversation about the economy every single day ... (but) I just wanted to ask, ‘How’s your job?,’ ‘How’s making a living in the city?,’ ‘How’s work?’”
The answers he got “are far more interesting that what you’d normally hear,” Condé said. “What surprised me was not simply what they said, but what they didn’t ... No one mentioned Albany, mandates or public employee unions ... not taxes, even.”
Daily, throughout 2011, Condé interviewed and photographed people at work in Rochester.
The answers to his questions were more basic, about how a boss treats them, when their paycheck would come in, if they’d get out of work in time to pick up their kids from school, whether there was room to advance in their job, and about new customers and coworkers, Condé said.
He ended up creating a unique collection of photographs — 365 of them, or one for each day of the year — that focus on the men and women who work in the City of Rochester.
He didn’t go on vacation. He stayed in Rochester to photograph someone every day.
He compiled the photographs he took into a new book, simply titled “Work in Rochester,” that was out in April and featured during a corresponding exhibition at the Rochester Contemporary gallery. Yet, it ... seems particularly significant with Labor Day earlier this month.
Some of the people he photographed may not reside in the city — he didn’t ask that question — but the common denominator is that they all work in Rochester, Condé said, explaining, “the city is the heart of this community.”
He also found that most people like their jobs, “or are at least proud of the work they do,” Condé said.
The photographs speak for themselves, and in some cases offer thought-provoking contrasts. They are simply identified by the day Condé captured each image. Short captions giving just the subject’s first name, do describe a little bit of each conversation he had.
“It (the book) is something of a time capsule, too,” Condé said, since it does also capture people and events of 2011 — from a person carrying a sign about the state’s passage of the marriage equality act to the demolition of Midtown Plaza.
Condé estimates that he probably shot 25,000 photographs to end up with the 365 in the book.
“I really wanted to focus on this community and the people who actually work here ... the economy at ground level,” Condé said. “It’s a book that works on a number of levels ... I like to think it broadens the discussion (about the economy) ... It needs to be in the hands of the people who actually work in Rochester.”
