We All We Got
Maker
Ortiz, Carlos Javier
American, b. 1977 Puerto Rico
Date2014
MediumBook
Dimensionsoverall: 9 1/2 in x 7 1/2 in x 3/4 in
Credit LineMuseum purchase; Special Books Collection
Object numberB2017:33
About the ArtistIn his series We All We Got, Carlos Javier Ortiz photographs youth and families that have been involved in or affected by acts of gun violence. He began the project by focusing on the families of two young girls from Chicago who were the unintended victims of a neighborhood shooting, but soon widened his investigation to include Guatemalan youth who have joined gangs in the United States after being displaced by the Guatemalan War.Contrary to stories of bloodshed that quickly pass through news media, We All We Got considers gun violence from multiple perspectives over the course of many months and years. This approach creates a complex narrative that traces issues beyond headline appeal. The project sheds light on communities where gun violence is a recurring, multifaceted issue, illuminating both a street culture that glorifies aggressive gang activity and the toll of gun related deaths on families and neighborhoods.
Carlos Javier Ortiz studied photojournalism at Columbia College Chicago. His work has received numerous awards and accolades, including the 2009 Domestic Photography Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.
![Florence hid her pain from us, but she liked her oncologist Dr. Adi Gidron and described the precise location of all her pains to him. He called her “the best patient I ever had,” and became a sad friend to both of us, having exhausted all the medical treatments Florence was capable of surviving. We had a false flash of hope after she began responding positively to chemo therapy, but it didn’t last. She had 4th stage cancer, the very worst. [...]](/internal/media/dispatcher/4580/thumbnail)