The Pawlet Visual Census and Oral History Project (1980-1990)
By 1980 Neil and Susanne Rappaport had developed the concepts for what they would call The Pawlet Visual Census and Oral History Project. The idea for the project grew out of Neil's desire to broaden his visual record beyond landscape studies and documentary narratives of a vanishing way of life. He wanted to achieve a portrait of the whole town. Life in Pawlet at that time revolved around the fewer and fewer remaining dairy farms and a growing influx of newcomers whose numbers had increased considerably in twenty years. The goal was to photograph everyone who was willing, seen in as many groupings that make up a community as possible, to create a precise image of the community as it entered the decade of the eighties, an image of great value for the generations to come.
Each of the approximately seven hundred portraits coming from this project over ten years is a collaborative endeavor. The participants made the choices about how to be seen, what to include in the picture, and where it should be taken. Neil acted as a guide toward the final moment when all the pieces came together. With his camera he focused the eye of the future, creating a "time capsule" for the resident of the twenty-first century to ponder. The images are individual messages of great variety, but when viewed collectively validate a shared identity and sign of continuance.
The oral history work Susanne Rappaport had begun during the1970s became even more central to the visual census. She was particularly drawn to the elderly because their voices and knowledge were disappearing quickly. But the conversations with younger people in the community at that time represent the constant change, the new ideas and perspectives that come with each generation. The interview was designed to elicit facts, memories and observations about the town and its future. Throughout this database with some records you will find "the voices" of Neil's subjects and transcripts from those recorded interviews.