ENTRY DESCRIPTION
I had always abhorred the violence in boxing but in November, 2015 I was asked to take boxing photos for a fund raising event for the PA Golden Gloves. I found James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym in West Philadelphia, a typical inner city neighborhood with the standard display of poverty and crime, drug dealing, cheap retail stores, garbage infested properties and people hanging out looking angry and depressed. When the owner, “Buster” Percy Custus granted me permission to enter the gym and take photos I was overcome by the sense of safety I felt, the friendly welcome I received and the satisfying preoccupation of the members in their work. Now I am a happy regular at the gym and spend hours hanging out talking to people. Besides photographing the scene at the gym, I follow boxers to their fights. The fight is the performance, the achievement that demonstrates how they have worked.

The gym itself is unusually handsome – with a pretty sign outside, blue and white walls, and special paintings of boxers behind the ring. Some of the equipment is rundown, but the gym has all the essential equipment for training and the place is kept surprisingly clean and fresh smelling by the janitor. I discovered that this sport has a rich beauty to it on many levels. The training is hard and painful, but the trainers and boxers all love it. The movements are actually beautiful, though it still shocks me when a fighter gets punched. The athleticism, discipline and bravery the fighters have are awe-inspiring. Relationships between the trainers and fighters are built on a mixture of respect, comradery, tenderness and tough love. Children are groomed for excellence but watched carefully to prevent them from misbehaving or getting hurt. Everyone dreams of going pro and winning.

AUTHOR
Jano Cohen is an emerging fine art and documentary photographer in Philadelphia whose current work focuses 1) on the world of boxing, and 2) on Kaleidoscopes of natural and manmade landscapes. In 2017, her solo show, “A Close Look Inside James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym”, was held at The Open Lens Gallery at The Gershman Y in Philadelphia through a competition held by The Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. Her other awards include: the 13th prize from The 2017 Photo Review International Competition for a show at Gallery 1401 in Philadelphia, an honorable mention in the 2017 Monochrome Awards, a finalist in five categories of the 7th Pollux Awards and participation in the 2016 4th Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography in Berlin, Germany, the 2015 and 2018 Open Lens juried exhibit at DaVinci Art Alliance in Philadephia, and 2015 Fotofoto Gallery juried exhibit in Huntington, NY.

Her previous documentary work includes: the work of a ballerina teaching dance in an Alzheimer’s unit, a slideshow depicting the community living and working in Philadelphia’s Chinatown at Asian Arts Initiative in 2012, and the documentation of two dance projects in Rwanda for Rebecca Davis Dance Company in 2011 for a website that would serve to raise scholarship money for street children.

Her previous experience as a dancer and choreographer informs her appreciation for movement and her years of experience teaching have deepened her connection to people.

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