The Thousands

Jesse Pollock has published art books by photographer Sandy Kim, illustrator Jay Howell, oh and his dad. But his father is Arthur Pollock, a long-time Boston Herald news photographer whose style has been compared to the gritty reportage popularised by Weegee in the 1940s – capturing normal people in everyday situations.

You can almost hear the Boston accents of the subjects, but the feelings the images evoke are universal – arresting and familiar. A smiling cop stands over a dead body, a young women sunbathes next to an old school ‘ghetto blaster’ and a young kid walks down what seems to be the middle of a highway. In true photojournalist style each shot tells a story, yet they seem too good for a newspaper.

One image in particular blew my mind. Two black schoolgirls clutching books to their chest stand over the open casket of a white priest. Only the girls are looking over his body into the distance. The contrast in colour and emotion as well as the mystery of the situation is captivating and, like all good art, stays with you after the book has closed or the gallery emptied.