Public Living Rooms -- San Juan

I first came to the conceptualization of "Public Living Rooms" when I was taking a workshop with David Alan Harvey in Puerto Rico. Even though I had been taking photographs of people in public spaces for many years, I hadn't thought it through in terms of people spending their days in plazas and parks. Many of these people don't have choices, they are homeless. But, both homeless people and the other people who spend their days in public places, are there to meet up with friends, to have a community, and to engage in conversations. Naming this "Public Living Rooms" came to me when I watched people exit buses early in the morning at the Plaza de Armas. Then, each afternoon, the same people got back on the buses to return to their homes. Others, of course, walked into the park and they too spent their days in this public place - thus "Public Living Rooms."