First published in the Jan. 22 print issue of the Glendale News Press.
Glendale Library, Arts & Culture, and ReflectSpace Gallery is presenting “Human Like You/Confronting the Homeless Crisis,” an exhibition that sheds light on the ever-burgeoning homeless epidemic.
Los Angeles County is home to a staggering 64,000 unhoused people.
ReflectSpace confronts the crisis by showcasing the work of two artists with extensive careers working with individuals dealing with trauma. Unable to ignore the ubiquitous presence of people living on the streets, photographer Jeffrey A. Wolin with his camera and artist Stuart Perlman with his paintbrush, create portraits of people experiencing homelessness.
Through image and personal testimony, “Human Like You” tells compelling stories of how people from all walks of life became unhoused and how they are coping. The journeys portrayed are harrowing, extraordinary and tragic. “Human Like You” provides a glimpse into the lives of those afflicted by job loss, mental illness, substance abuse, tragedy and domestic violence. The exhibition implores the viewer to empathize and contemplate a solution to this crisis.
Perlman is a psychoanalyst who has painted oil portraits of more than 350 unhoused individuals. Perlman also records their life stories, art and music. His “Faces of Homelessness” exhibition has toured throughout Los Angeles County since 2012. His documentary, “Struggle in Paradise,” won the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis’ Best Movie of the Year award.
Wolin is Ruth N. Halls Professor Emeritus of Photography at Indiana University. His photographs have been exhibited in more than 100 exhibitions in the United States and Europe, including solo shows at the Art Institute of Chicago, International Center of Photography in New York, George Eastman Museum in Rochester, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and group exhibitions at MoMA, Whitney Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the permanent collections of numerous museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Bibliotèque Nationale de France, Paris; and Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The exhibition includes resources for individuals seeking services in Glendale and Los Angeles County.
“Human Like You/Confronting the Homeless Crisis” is on view now through March 4 and is open to the public during regular library hours.
