Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Wonderful photo. "'Bollocks' Bellocq, the Brady of the Brothel"? If I can trust my understanding of a Sontag quote taken out of context, I agree with her that photographers and other "graphers" of all types invent the past. They don't literally do that, of course, but they create our understanding of what the past was, and what the events meant. The most obvious example is the Vietnam war. This is all tied up with people accepting that what is presented in a photographic image (especially a photojournalistic one) is somehow The Truth. Paul >-----Original Message----- >From: John Collier [mailto:jbcollier@home.com] >Sent: Friday, September 08, 2000 3:46 PM >To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us >Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: LUGPhoto Quotes To Brighten Your Day > > >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