Mark Tuschman in front of his photographs.
Photographer Mark Tuschman’s work was displayed in an exhibition for his book “Together We Rise: Immigrants in America.” The event was on March 15th, in the KCI Gallery at Foothill College.
The photo exhibition, featuring Mark’s project “Immigrants are Us,” was on view during the winter quarter as well as an artist talk held on Jan. 15. Additionally, it was featured in Foothill’s Jewish Heritage Month. The exhibit offered a chance to view an early print of Mark’s book and featured twenty of his book’s stories with their designated portraits.
Mark’s book focuses on 110 immigrants’ first-person stories, each paired with a powerful portrait. Their purpose was to showcase the many contributions that immigrants make in our society. This includes the struggles and sacrifices experienced in the process of coming to the US. His goal was to break down barriers, creating empathy and compassion towards immigrants. This came as a response to the ongoing anti-immigrant narrative, and Tuschman states his intention is “to move us, as a country, towards a more humane, compassionate, and integrated society.”
Mark states that this book is not an opinion piece, but instead a platform and voice for those who go unnoticed. He created this “illuminating portrait of the immigrant experience in America” by splitting his book into six major sections. The titles are as follows: Our Land, Our Food, Our Health, Our Economy, Our Educators, Our Justice, and Our Future. Mark ensured he interviewed immigrants of all skills, to accurately display just how important they are to the performance of our country. Mark emphasizes this by saying,
“Without immigrants, we all lose: major medical institutions would cease functioning, the elderly would have little access to home or nursing care, food prices would skyrocket, most restaurants would close their doors, the hi-tech economy would falter…”
Guests observing the exhibit.
Tuschman developed the prints himself and stated that he chose to shoot in black and white to create cohesion across so many different environmental portraits. Mark’s subjects were each directed to look into the camera with a neutral expression. This posing came from his desire to create eye contact and thus connection to the person photographed. This builds upon Mark’s original desire to have a traveling exhibit. He aspires to feature his work in as many public spaces, specifically in purple (politically neutral) states, as possible. His intention: help combat negative narratives about immigrants in America, in places where people may have a more neutral opinion. Mark believes photography to be a universal language, and according to him he was able to create powerful work since “one can argue about politics or even disregard facts but one cannot argue about a person’s story.”
Mark has been a freelance photographer for about 40 years. He has done work surrounding the documentation of global health challenges and human rights issues. He has another previously published book titled “Faces of Courage: Intimate Portraits of Women on the Edge,” and it was named one of the best photo books of the year by American Photo Magazine in 2015. After working on his latest book, starting it in 2018 and finally publishing in 2024, his plans include going to shoot in Atlanta in hopes of photographing some American communities there.
Below is Mark’s website for his project “Immigrants are Us” as well as his website:
