A photographer may argue that a picture is worth a thousand words. A good photographer would probably beg to differ. On Tuesday night, we were honored to have Mr. Traub as our guest and talking about photography in the modern world. The pictures he showed, taken in the 70s – 90s, are incredibly vivid and futuristic—they, in fact, look incredibly modern. It was astonishing to see the Chicago streets teemed with skyscrapers and the people dressed in style—nothing has changed. We see teenagers wearing Nike and Adidas shirts, men in suit and tie rushing to work, women in beautiful sunglasses and fancy hairstyles. If you were to place them on the street today, no one would be able to tell the difference. The only giveaway, though, might be the mustaches here and there in the album. But who knows—perhaps five years from now, it would be in the trend again.
As we recall people’s lives thirty years back, we could easily appreciate the enormous difference: the pr
evalence of the Internet, cell phones, computers and laptops; the acceptance and legalization of equal rights for various groups; the public focus shifted from the Soviet Union to global warming. Many things, however, remained static: the city streets, fashion trends, and deep down, the very basic characteristics that make us human. People from the 70s are just like the people from today: cruising down the Chicago streets and merry about simple things.
-Stacey Hou