People in Transit: Expanding the Spatial and Temporal Frames of the American Anthropological Association Annual Meetings

Abstract

This photo essay comprises a series of black and white photographs taken in transit. The photographs were taken in airports, planes, busses, railway platforms and underground metro stations during the photographer’s
journey to the 2017 American Anthropological Association (AAA) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Taken in high contrast, the images presented here reflect the photographer’s acute awareness of the sharp conceptual
boundaries that separate the scholarly arena located inside of the venue’s walls from the social, political, economic and spatial worlds that exist outside of them. The essay provides a visual narrative of the photographer’s observations of people and places while on route to the event. In doing so, it highlights everyday lived experiences that occurred “just before” the official onset of the event, while “on the way” to the venue. Through careful attention to shadows and viewpoint, the photographer subtly anonymizes subjects, maintaining the fabric of their relationships as passing strangers. While at once a reflexive commentary on the temporal and spatial frames of conferences, the essay also documents the diverse ways that people temporarily dwell in ephemeral travel spaces.