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Health & Fitness

Does Art Unite Us? Ask These Strangers.

Richard Renaldi is a Brooklyn-based photographer that can otherwise be referred to as a curiosity matchmaker. One of his latest projects—asking strangers to pose together for portraits—carries with it a sincere emotional resonance. When you look at his images, even if for a brief moment, you have to wonder: “Is it really possible that maybe, one day, we can all get along?”

Art is graced with this fantastic ability to make your reconsider your daily routine. Renaldi’s photographs are a perfect example. While they’re great to be displayed, his photographs are more than eye candy. They stir up questions:  Is there someone you often see on your usual route to work you’ve never stopped and said hello to? Are there differences between you that really, when you think about them, only really bring you closer together?

 

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One of Renaldi’s goals is to get people to think past the divisions — ethnic, religious, socioeconomic — that often go unexamined in urban life. “For a lot of people, it’s an exercise for them to be able to push their own comfort level,” he said.

Read more about Renaldi's project, including an excellent feature about the artist and his subjects in the New York Times, here. 
Is there a Napa neighborhood you'd like to see this project completed in? Tell us in the comments!

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