Mike Dvorak, "Amish; one God, one family"

Issue 94 of B&W broke a longstanding precedent of not revisiting artists that had previously been featured. I proposed that Mike Dvorak’s work among a particularly stern Amish sect certainly merited a departure, and this was favorably approved. He and I both negotiated a tenuous balance between romanticizing this way of life, and acknowledging its harsher truths. 

"However artfully rendered Dvorak’s Amish series is, contemporary curators, and collectors tend to view documentary photography as having little current merit, or of having passed into history… Photographic art has frequently shown us what is enduring as well as what is imperiled. Given America’s current struggles, would that it had invested even a modest amount in the country’s artistic capital, rather than limiting its vision to bolstering banks and fortifying Wall Street. Fortunately, a few stalwart traditionalists believe that it remains a relevant endeavor to better acquaint us with the experiences of our fellow citizens.” December, 2012 link