DON’T TRUST ANYONE OVER THIRTY

The above admonition attributed to Jack Weinberg, leader of the Free Speech Movement at University of California, Berkeley, in 1965, seems highly appropriate to Jonathan Hollingsworth’s What We Think Now series of large scale digital prints. Each of the 40 images represents current thought about the US involvement in Iraq by someone under the age of 30. Restricting the geographical locale to California, Hollingsworth traveled throughout the state canvassing opinion from diverse demographics. His 40 subjects deliver a surprising and diverse range of responses through remarks handwritten on poster board. The bold placards and sloganeering are immediately reminiscent of the protests and demonstrations that were seen during the deeply divisive Vietnam War over 40 years ago.
Unframed and installed in a tightly spaced row, these compositionally similar portraits create a powerful visual continuity. Reminiscent of early animation, the figures morph across the wall, their heartfelt belief remaining the only constant. Their biographical information is eliminated, and the subjects are now known only by their declarative slogans. The portraits become curiously similar to the Defense Department’s deck of cards featuring Iraqi “bad guys.” Hollingsworth titles the works by the locations of the photographs and the subjects’ first names, allowing their sentiments a measure of anonymity. In this way, they are no longer themselves alone but a symbol of a larger constituency. “I think it’s good we’re in Iraq because it will start to bring more equality and freedom to the people” remarks Katrina from Huntington beach sitting cross legged next to her surf board.” “I have an opinion…but I choose not to share due to my allegiance to the US military,” states Brian from Palmdale pictured in front of his white sedan with window sticker supporting President Bush’s 2004 reelection. Could such a guarded opinion lead one to think that he regrets his choice? On the other hand, Jimmy from Westwood, who is framed by the racks of colorful magazines, writes: “We Broke International Law. Punish Us.”
In the ‘post-literate’ age, the handwritten sign remains an anomaly. Uneven and irregular, its rough and ready form makes for one of the most potent modes of address. Functioning primarily as a crude and immediate delivery system for goods, information, and ideas, it is ultimately one of the most democratic of forms. From the familiar “I’ll Work For Food”—produced out of genuine need—to its current use in Universal Studio’s television advertising campaign to increase the profits of a billion dollar corporation, the crudely scrawled sign has remained a stable and effective device. Representing an individual rather than impersonal response, an immediate sympathy is garnered and the perception of truth is attributed to the makeshift sign. Both generic and specific, Hollingsworth has capitalized on the form’s versatility and neutrality to produce a significant historical record that will have longevity and meaning long after the end of the war and remind us what we were thinking about this intensely polarizing subject.

JONATHAN HOLLINGSWORTH: WHAT WE THINK NOW
UCR/CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY, AUGUST 2006