Process?

Process is an interesting word. Many times we spend it waiting to hear back from organizations. My e-mail has not yet been responded to, so I will need to find another way to get access to the inner workings of the Medical Foundation. I have been sent several e-mail updates from them about upcoming events, so perhaps I should start looking at those documents. I am still at a kind of loss as to where to turn to next. Should I try and talk with people who work at the organization in order talk to those in charge about representation or should I simply find different texts on their website to analysis? I think I prefer the first option because it adds a real practical value to my work. If I simply look at just the images of the site, I am not really dealing with the bigger issues within nonprofit organizations. I really would like my work to be practical and useful to not only me but people within different fields.

I find the real challenge to be describing the images on these different websites without the input of those who have posted them. I think it is too easy to be incredibly critical when you have nothing at stake. It is important to immerse yourself in your work and to really get input from those who are the producers. So, my goal for this project is to not only look at the images of torture surviors on the website and their stories, but also to talk to those who have a stake in these images. The people who work at the MF have positive intentions behind their actions and these must be taken into account when one is being critical of their work. I would really like to get at the heart of how nonprofits deal with issues of representation so that I can accurately represent them in my own work. In doing this, it allows me to find a place that is productive and can help future instances of representation.

So, the goal is to continue to e-mail the MF until I get some sort of response. In the meantime, I will look for more images on their site that I find to be problematic and others that are empowering.