Master’s student brings images of the world to USC

Paul Rockower walks the USC campus decked out in bling from around the world.

“This is from Tibet,” Rockower said, fiddling with a metal bracelet that looks like it was formerly a decorative silverware handle. “I traded a Chicago Cubs T-shirt for it in Shigatse.”

The USC master of public diplomacy student also sports an array of necklaces — a charm from a shrine in Pakistan, another from a sheik temple, Brazilian nuts dangling from knotted twine, a simple silver Star of David — collected during the past 11 years of exploring the world as a student, journalist and explorer.

In the second-floor Annenberg Gallery, Rockower’s travels are documented in a more accessible form. Selected from thousands of images taken during his adventures around the globe, 21st Century Family of Man exhibit features a lobby and conference room’s worth of professional-grade photos documenting the commonality among the people and places Rockower has encountered.

“The overall connection is that family is family wherever you go,” Rockower said. “You can be anywhere in the world and find similarities.”

As the first student to utilize the space, Rockower also hopes that 21st Century Family of Man will turn the Annenberg Gallery — primarily an outlet for working artists — into a student arena. Previous exhibits have showcased Pulitzer Prize-winning photo essays, editorial cartoons and 1960s political posters, but never student works.

“You make your opportunities by asking for it and hopefully more students will see it and take advantage,” Rockower said.

Both the exhibition’s title and subject matter are throwbacks to the groundbreaking 1955 New York Museum of Modern Art show titled The Family of Man. The original Family of Man featured 503 black-and-white photographs taken by 273 amateur and professional photographers from around the world.

Like a mirror reflecting images of the world back onto itself, the exhibition brought striking photos of the human existence to viewers living in a tumultuous post-war era. The message of basic cultural similarities was so strong that The Family of Man spent the next eight years touring the world, eventually showing in 37 countries on six continents.

But a lot has changed since 1955.

“The original Family of Man was very much an element of the generation it came from. At the time, the pictures were universal, but now, they look dated,” Rockower said.

Advancements in commercial travel and information technology have created a post-postmodern world smaller than the one captured in the original MOMA exhibit, and though human commonality is still a reality, it was in desperate need of a visual update.

Through both 35mm film and digital photography, Rockower’s 21st century revamp captures the essence of our new common bonds if not through lush, color images of Nigerian children wearing Britney Spears shirts, then by virtue of the exhibit’s creation.

“Fifty years ago, you needed [about] 300 photographers to capture the world,” Rockower said. “Now, because of changes in communication and travel, I can do what it took [about] 300 photographers to do.”

Although the diverse display of cultures is Rockower’s first major exhibition, the self-taught photographer’s goals for sharing his Picasa Web Album are loftier than simple bragging rights. As a student in the country’s first and only public diplomacy program, Rockower hopes that by bringing the images of the world to USC, he can create a two-way dialogue that will inspire students to travel and see for themselves how alike humanity can be.

“Traveling is an investment in yourself,” Rockower said. “It’s so easy, it’s so much fun and it’s so beneficial.”

The self-proclaimed “bohemian, Orientalist Zionist” grew up on the East Coast, but found a rush in traveling at a young age. During high school, his involvement with the Young Judea group took him on a summer trip to Israel. Wanting to learn more about the country, he spent a year studying in Jerusalem and then backpacked around Europe for six weeks.

“It was such a mind-blowing experience because I was 19 and here I am wandering around Prague,” Rockower said.

After graduating from Brandeis University in Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, Rockower nabbed a job at the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Houston and spent time exploring the diversity in his own backyard.

“I treated Texas as a study abroad experience. It’s got such a different culture and I could appreciate it as something different,” Rockower said. “I could call myself the Israeli Ambassador to the Republic of Texas.”

Through a rotary fellowship, Rockower ended up in South Africa, reporting on Jewish communities in remote villages for the Jerusalem Post and continued to alternate between traveling and working until finally deciding to relocate to Los Angeles to attend USC. As of this past summer’s trip to Japan, he has been to 45 countries.

The 21st Century Family of Man showcases 70 photos of somber adults, happy children, obscure cities and recognizable monuments, documenting a period of Rockower’s life that has made him who he is today.

“I want people to see the world and realize how similar we are and how rewarding it is to take those steps,” Rockower said. “It’s a matter of trying to understand the way the world is, but you can’t understand it if you don’t see it, taste it or hear the music.”