u.n.becoming

Series u.n.becoming - work-in-progress

United Nations | UN, U.N. | an international organization, headquartered in New York City, formed to promote international peace, security, and cooperation under the terms of the charter signed by 51 founding countries in San Francisco in 1945, and since then by many more countries.

Natural. | na·tu·ral | “An individual native to a land, a country; born in, originating from.”

Naturalization. | na.tu.ra.li.za.tion | “Process by which a non-citizen, who is a legal permanent resident, may become a U.S. citizen after meeting specific requirements, including residency, language proficiency, and passing a citizenship test.”

u.n.becoming  is a photographic series that blends the vernacular photo archive of my maternal family with public domain images from historical archives, creating a visual narrative of my grandfather’s migratory journey from Brazil to the United States. 2026, marks this century-long journey, transforming each image into a possible link between past and present, memory and identity. By establishing the roots of a Latino family in North America and tracing the steps of one immigrant man, I hope to create a point of reference for the right to existence and dignity of every human being.

For nearly twenty years - until a few months before his death - my grandfather worked as a refrigeration machine operator in the United Nations building, from its temporary location in Lake Success, Long Island, to its permanent headquarters in New York City. I aim to develop an imaginative and poetic representation of working-class realities: long daily commutes, night shifts, and the insecurity stemming from the inability to own housing or a private means of transportation - challenges still frequently faced by immigrant families in the U.S. in pursuit of the "American" dream. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in response to the atrocities of World War II, will serve as a guiding framework for the visual explorations and narratives I will present in this body of work.

Contextualizing the geographic spaces in New York that my grandfather inhabited will provide visual elements of modernity I intend to incorporate in this project - such as maps, urban landscapes, and symbols of mass culture, cinema, and the electricity universe that fascinated my grandfather as an electrical operator. At the same time, the immigrant political and social context may allow me to construct narratives around universal human rights: the right to life, liberty, and security; non-discrimination; freedom of thought and religion; and the right to education, work, and a decent standard of living.

I hope to develop this project starting at the centennial of my grandfather’s departure from the port of Recife and his arrival at Ellis Island in New York in Aug. 1926. Photographic records of landscapes and architectural landmarks will be created specifically for this project when needed, as well as research in digital archives and public domain images from the 1920s to the 1960s, the period during which my grandfather lived in the United States.

I hope that my grandfather’s journey can offer a point of access for a deeper understanding of the human condition, revealing the many facets of the ongoing search for belonging and renewal. Through the story of this one man, I want to make accessible a reflection on the contrasts and similarities of the immigrant experience in the U.S. over the past 100 years. Examining his story may shed light on shifts in immigration processes and policies, the challenges faced by immigrants, and how these struggles are more present than ever in contemporary American society.

The family photographs in my possession portray moments from my grandfather’s life that can offer perspectives on the everyday realities of an immigrant trying to settle in the United States. To understand his experience, I will combine the familial memories these photographs carry with texts and images from public records and historical archives. Official records, such as immigration documents, may be crucial for establishing the trajectory of an individual within the historical context of broad U.S. immigration policy. Examining these documents may offer insight into the rules that have governed immigrant entry into the U.S. and how these policies have evolved—or regressed - over the past century.

In addition to historical sources, available data on immigration will be accessed to illuminate the contemporary immigrant experience. Although many of the challenges my grandfather faced 100 years ago - such as economic hardship, racial discrimination, and cultural adaptation - remain relevant for today’s immigrant population, current immigration policies are unique. Immigrants today face stricter border controls, complex legal procedures, and often a hostile political environment. By comparing past and present opportunities, we can better understand the ongoing struggles of immigrants and the similarities and contrasts in their experiences over the past century.

I hope the story of my maternal grandfather, Waldemar Gomes Cabral, becomes more than a personal narrative - if effectively constructed, the imaginative and poetic representation of his existence will serve as a microcosm of the broader and diverse immigrant experience in the United States over the past century. By combining family stories and memories with photographs, public records, and current data, I hope to provide an understanding of the immigrant universe and the profound impact of immigration on both individuals and society.

Possible techniques and visual elements to be used throughout the project are public domain film and photographic archival images; family photographs; black-and-white photographs of New York City's urban landscape created specifically for this project. Photographic overlays and interventions will be digitized and presented in their final form as digital prints. 

Contextualizing the geographic spaces in New York that my grandfather occupied, particularly the United Nations headquarters, will provide visual elements of modernity that I wish to incorporate into the project—such as maps, blueprints, urban landscapes, and symbols of mass culture, cinema, and the world of electricity, all of which reflected my grandfather’s interest as an electrical engineer.

Since the U.N.becoming project centers on my grandfather’s story, it will inevitably also explore the close relationship between my mother and her father, including the period of his convalescence leading up to his death. The development of this project is also coinciding with my own father’s aging and his gradual physical decline following a cardiac event. I believe the theme of close “father-daughter” relationships—experienced across generations in my family—will inevitably surface in the U.N.becoming project.

The Choice of Blue

The official color chosen by the UN was selected for being the opposite of red, which is associated with war and violence. The UN flag, featuring a world map and olive branches on a light blue background, was officially adopted in 1947 - the same year my grandfather began working as a maintenance technician in the United Nations building. This adds another layer of meaning to the use of blue tones and the incorporation of cyanotypes into the images in the u.n.becoming project.

The immigrant experience allows me to construct narratives around the universal rights of all human beings - such as the right to life, liberty, and security; to non-discrimination; to freedom of thought and religion; and the right to education, work, and a decent standard of living. These rights are intentionally aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which outlines 30 fundamental human rights, adopted by the United Nations since its founding.

Early Explorations u.n.becoming

As I reflect on the various narratives to describe my grandfather’s life experience as an immigrant I hope to explore throughout the u.n.becoming project, a series of panels—such as the one presented above—would be just one of the many visualizations and imagery I want to generate for this series. 

I am considering combining the anaglyph technique in these panels to highlight specific images or messages in each one that I’m developing. Anaglyph is an artistic way to trick the eyes and enchant the mind. By combining layers of color - typically red and cyan - slightly offset from each other, a visual dance is created that, when viewed through bicolored glasses, transforms the static plane into a pulsating scene with depth. Like optical magic, the image seems to lift off the paper or screen, floating in front of the viewer. This technique plays with perception, splitting the gaze into two worlds that merge in the mind, revealing a three-dimensional universe hidden beneath the surface of color. It is art, science, and illusion in perfect harmony.

Preliminary Bibliography

Agee, J., & Evans, W. (1941). Let us now praise famous men: three tenant families. Houghton Mifflin. 

Anzaldua, G. (1987) Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, San Francisco.

Azoulay, A. (2019). Potential history: Unlearning Imperialism. Verso.

Azoulay, A., & Bethlehem, L. (2015). Civil imagination: A political ontology of photography. Verso.

Azulay, A., & Mazali, R. (2008). The Civil Contract of photography. Zone Books.

Berman, M. (1988). All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. Penguin Books. 

Briggs, V. M. (1984). Immigration policy and the American labor force. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Cheng, A. A. (2024). Ordinary disasters: How I stopped being a model minority. Pantheon Books.

Everyman's United Nations: A Ready Reference to the Structure, Functions and Work of the United Nations and Its Related Agencies. (1952). United States: United Nations Department of Public Information.

Fontcuberta, J. (2004). Photography: Crisis of history. Actar.

Francisco, J., & McCauley, E. A. (2012). The steerage and Alfred Stieglitz. University of California Press.

Freire, P. (2020). Pedagogia do oprimido. Paz e Terra.

Galt, T. F. (1947). How the United Nations works. Thomas Y. Crowell company

How peoples work together, the United nations and the specialized agencies. (1949). [Manhattan Pub. Co.].

Jonnes, J. (2003). Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the race to electrify the world. Random House.

Linkman, A. (2017). Photography and death Audrey Linkman. Reaktion Books.

Mann, S. (2016). Hold still : a memoir with photographs (Paperback edition). Back Bay Books.

Mann, S. (2003). What Remains. Boston: Bulfinch Press.

McLuhan, M., & Gordon, W. T. (2015). Understanding media: The extensions of man. Gingko Press.

Meisler, S. (1995). United Nations: the first fifty years (1st ed.). Atlantic Monthly Press.

Reid, D. (2016). The brazen age: New York City and the American Empire: Politics, art, and bohemia. Pantheon Books.

Report to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the permanent headquarters of the United Nations. (1947). United States: United Nations 

Stimson, B. (2006). The pivot of the world: Photography and its nation. MIT Press.

United Nations General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc. A/810 (10 December 1948). https://india.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/UDHR%202017%20text%20English_print%20%281%29.pdf

Other possible references

Blair, S., & Rosenberg, E. M. (2012). Trauma and documentary photography of the FSA. University of California Press.

Iversen, M. (2017). Photography, Trace, and trauma. The University of Chicago Press.

Trachtenberg, A., & Meyers, A. W. (2005). Classic essays on Photography. Leete’s Island Books.

Trachtenberg, A. (2008). Reading American Photographs: Images as history: Mathew Brady to Walker Evans. Hill and Wang.

Salvesen, B., Barlow, N., Banchoff, T., Drysdale, E., Huhtamo, E., Rottman, Z., Sutton, G., & Los Angeles County Museum of Art. (2018). 3D : double vision. DelMonico Books/Prestel.

Blue Prints: The pioneering photographs of Anna Atkins. The New York Public Library. (n.d.).https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/blue-prints-pioneering-photographs-anna-atkins