Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]A marvellous counter point to this are the photographs of E.J. Bellocq, a professional photographer at the turn of the century, taken in a southern brothel I believe. The women look straight at the camera and are grinning so disarmingly. It is not erotic at all even though they are naked. Here is an URL for one example: http://www.artnet.com/GalHome/FineArtDetail.asp?FromLoc=GalHome&LotID=42068& PAGE=1&GID=&CID=&AID=10159&AILETTER=B&FROMPG=GLRY&GNAME=&WNAME=Storyville+Po rtrait John Collier > From: Robert Appleby <robert.appleby@tin.it> > > Chandos, I think that one of the deadly traps of photojournalism in general > is the urge to produce emblematic images which fail to transmit or even > notice the particularity of place or person. How many pictures have you > seen of a person afflicted with leprosy laughing with his kids? No, he has > to be miserable because he's a leprosy victim, and therefore his personal > experience must be disregarded in the pursuit of a larger theme. Or a drug > addict enjoying a cup of tea with his mates? This is an insidious form of > "invention", really a sort of propaganda, which it's hard not to fall into, > especially when dealing with the exotic or "serious". Very little > journalistic photography allows people to be more than symbols of their > condition.