The pictures cover the gamut from stories of jubilation and heroism to the harsh realities of racism, war and poverty and Cyma Rubin, Curator of the Capture the Moment exhibition says she wanted them blown up to larger-than-life size, "it grabs the viewer closer into the situation closer and they have a bigger experience."
The exhibition includes Philadelphia Inquirer photographer Tom Gralish' 1986 Pulitzer-winning series on Philadelphia's homeless. He spent a month in the winter of 1985 documenting the life of people living on the street. "What I tried to show was that they were a community," says Gralish, "if all you do is see a guy on the same grate everyday when you go to work in the morning….what is he doing for the rest of the day? And that's what I kind of wanted to show."
Gralish says he's particularly moved by the photos showing the plight of farmers in 1987 and the 2006 feature on the final salute to soldiers who died in Afghanistan because "he didn't just stand there and point a camera at something happening. He waited until all the elements came together. The light was right, the people were right," Gralish explains. "Every single picture in that essay was spot on."
Cyma Rubin says, for her, "The main thing is that, young people are coming to see the still images and to learn the history and to experience it. They come by the tens of thousands and that is very important."
Capture the Moment will be on display through year's end. You can go to www.ConstitutionCenter.org for tickets.
Or you can visit 6abc.com's Entertainment Channel to find out about other area events.
