photograph with a personal cause?

[jtk]

https://stephaniesinclair.com/editorial/ There's more to "personal cause" than Afghan Girl.

 

[juan]

I know a lot of people do this, but it’s not my cup of tea. I’ve displayed my photos at places where viewers for political/environmental symbolism in my work. I could never see it. I think some people think in symbols, and others don’t.

 

[jtk]

I know a lot of people do this, but it’s not my cup of tea. I’ve displayed my photos at places where viewers for political/environmental symbolism in my work. I could never see it. I think some people think in symbols, and others don’t.

Good observation about the ways some people think.

Years ago I saw a slide show conducted by the photographer Eliot Porter, derived from his then-new book The Place No One Knew... https://www.allbookstores.com/The-Place-One-Knew-Glen/9780879059712
...the purpose of the slide show was to help Sierra Club (of Ansel Adams fame) build opposition to the Glen Canyon Dam, which did get built, destroying the places Porter photographed (and dye transfer printed).

Stephanie Sinclair especially photographs women ...beautiful work. I don't think she intends symbolism but she does want to influence viewers related to women who suffer in places like Syria.

 

[awty]

Looks like girls are reaching puberty younger.

 

[awty]

Stay away from girls.

Don't tell me, tell the dirty old men in the first picture with there 11 year old brides.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

Looks like girls are reaching puberty younger.

Been going on for a long time.

 

[jtk]

Do you have thoughts about the photography/photographer....?

Seems like Sinclair's brave, not just a typical war tourist with camera . Establishes relationships, has no "street" tendency.

Do you pursue some sort of "cause" photographically? I don't, but many of my photos seem poetic to me (nobody would think that). I'm white, live in a comfortable semi-rural neighborhood, most who know me socially are Native Americans (Navajo) who live hours away. My girlfriend and I voluntarily worked with Navajo children for decades before we met, made few photos of them. Our refrigerator has a half dozen magnetic photos of them. And maps.

 

[jtk]

Don't tell me, tell the dirty old men in the first picture with there 11 year old brides.

Sorry for the comment. Dirty old men are part of human nature everywhere. It's easier to see that in cultures under attack, than in our own. The "Me too" movement is directly comparable to America's Civil Rights movement...but it doesn't address the plight of women (and men) in larger society who can't support their children. Few photojournalists are appreciated for their work around that. Some American states still allow 12-year-olds to marry, and a huge American evangelical cult still informally allows it.

 

[jim10219]

I'm glad other people do this. But to me, it's more journalism than art. Not that there's anything wrong with journalism. And while the photographs may be artistically done, it's just not what interests me. It saddens me to see this, but it doesn't propel me to take action.

One of my favorite artists (though he isn't a photographer) is Edward Kienholz. His work dealt with a lot of the issues of modern society like isolationism and institutionalization. He addressed issues like our treatment of the elderly, mentally and emotionally challenged, and our society's commoditization of humanity. He used symbols to push his themes. That's the kind of stuff that interests me more. Rather than laying the problem at your feet, he challenged you to place yourself into the problem. I understand this approach doesn't work on everyone, but it appeals more to my mind because it forces me to think about the root of the problems rather than just becoming aware of them.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I believe it's a credible reason to attempt painting people from places difficult to visit because of war/poverty/ect. with the brush of humanity. In the US we only see them when they die or kill because it's in the gub'ment's best interest that they be dehumanized so we can continue killing them.

 

[jtk]

I'm glad other people do this. But to me, it's more journalism than art. Not that there's anything wrong with journalism. And while the photographs may be artistically done, it's just not what interests me. It saddens me to see this, but it doesn't propel me to take action.

One of my favorite artists (though he isn't a photographer) is Edward Kienholz. His work dealt with a lot of the issues of modern society like isolationism and institutionalization. He addressed issues like our treatment of the elderly, mentally and emotionally challenged, and our society's commoditization of humanity. He used symbols to push his themes. That's the kind of stuff that interests me more. Rather than laying the problem at your feet, he challenged you to place yourself into the problem. I understand this approach doesn't work on everyone, but it appeals more to my mind because it forces me to think about the root of the problems rather than just becoming aware of them.

Interesting angles. Someone on anther thread seemed negative about symbols...I do think they're second-hand images, but that isn't necessarily negative. "Laying the problem at your feet" isn't necessarily negative either, but what if we're not aware of the extent of female genital mutilation (for example) in "modern medical" settings which Sinclair reveals?

 

[jtk]

I believe it's a credible reason to attempt painting people from places difficult to visit because of war/poverty/ect. with the brush of humanity. In the US we only see them when they die or kill because it's in the gub'ment's best interest that they be dehumanized so we can continue killing them.

Do you make photos that address these issues? I don't, and I wish I'd documented Black Panther Party's formation, which I watched closer than I realized at the time, rather than just making a few journalistic snapshots.

 

[awty]

Sorry for the comment. Dirty old men are part of human nature everywhere. It's easier to see that in cultures under attack, than in our own. The "Me too" movement is directly comparable to America's Civil Rights movement...but it doesn't address the plight of women (and men) in larger society who can't support their children. Few photojournalists are appreciated for their work around that. Some American states still allow 12-year-olds to marry, and a huge American evangelical cult still informally allows it.

And men should take every opportunity to be applaud by it. You know what they say of hell and sitting on fences.
Its a subtle but very powerful picture, you could be mistaken for it to be daddy and daughter day at the local school. Although the men in that picture aren't old, the one with old man and girl on the mat is confronting to, especially as she looks away.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Do you make photos that address these issues? I don't, and I wish I'd documented Black Panther Party's formation, which I watched closer than I realized at the time, rather than just making a few journalistic snapshots.

No I do not. Where I live the best thing I could document would be old people. I'm 60 and a young man in the scope of things. I wish I could have documented my youth growing up in the '60s.

 

[jtk]

No I do not. Where I live the best thing I could document would be old people. I'm 60 and a young man in the scope of things. I wish I could have documented my youth growing up in the '60s.

I wonder if you'd find it rewarding to document your life now? Would be hard. Would that be like "selfies"? Those can be honorable. There's a wonderful 70s or 80s photo book called "Gramps" ...I think it's on Amazon...a bunch of hippie kids in Appalachia, I think, decided to take in and take care of one of their grandfathers until he died, which they witnessed and photographed. TriX Pentax stuff, if that matters. They all lived in a shotgun shack, I think.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

Those photos are way better than most of the genre. I can't explain exactly, perhaps the trust they gave her? The intimacy, especially of young girls who I suspect were going through genital mutilation?

They also affirmed to me that that culture and our Western culture have a chasm that will probably never be bridged.

 

[jim10219]

Interesting angles. Someone on anther thread seemed negative about symbols...I do think they're second-hand images, but that isn't necessarily negative. "Laying the problem at your feet" isn't necessarily negative either, but what if we're not aware of the extent of female genital mutilation (for example) in "modern medical" settings which Sinclair reveals?

I agree. I don't think that "laying the problem at your feet", as I put it, is a bad thing. In fact, it's kind of the hallmark of good journalism. Good journalism doesn't try to tell you how to feel about something, it just gives you a honest look at it. It lets you decide what's right or wrong.

My issue with it is I feel bombarded by it. So it may strike me one way immediately, but then the next thing comes along and my focus is changed. It's a good way to raise awareness, but at least from me, it's not a good way to illicit action. It's a good and necessary first step. But the way I'm wired, good art with a message tends to stick longer with me. It provokes and evokes. I don't forget it when I see the next moving work of art. It was created with a deep passion, which is evident for me and stirs my own passions. When I hear a song I like addressing an important issue, it becomes a personal call to action for me. It's a good second step to righting the wrongs of the world. I guess the last step is the action itself, for which organized groups exist.

Like I said, I think it's important and I'm glad people are doing it. But it's not the kind of thing I would do. Then again, I'm an introvert.

 

[jtk]

I agree. I don't think that "laying the problem at your feet", as I put it, is a bad thing. In fact, it's kind of the hallmark of good journalism. Good journalism doesn't try to tell you how to feel about something, it just gives you a honest look at it. It lets you decide what's right or wrong.

My issue with it is I feel bombarded by it. So it may strike me one way immediately, but then the next thing comes along and my focus is changed. It's a good way to raise awareness, but at least from me, it's not a good way to illicit action. It's a good and necessary first step. But the way I'm wired, good art with a message tends to stick longer with me. It provokes and evokes. I don't forget it when I see the next moving work of art. It was created with a deep passion, which is evident for me and stirs my own passions. When I hear a song I like addressing an important issue, it becomes a personal call to action for me. It's a good second step to righting the wrongs of the world. I guess the last step is the action itself, for which organized groups exist.

Like I said, I think it's important and I'm glad people are doing it. But it's not the kind of thing I would do. Then again, I'm an introvert.

I don't entirely buy the idea that "good journalism" is neutral. I think someone has to lead the charge in the press if good things (or bad things) are to happen. I don't know if Sinclair's genital mutilation photos have been seen by anybody that actually counts...recently there's been a drumbeat right-wing assertion that "napalm girl" isn't an honest image. http://time.com/5527355/napalm-girl-kim-phuc-phan-thi-dresden-prize/ ... and it certainly didn't "get us out of Vietnam." The journalists who fired up our Colonial ancestors in Boston were far from honest news-wise, but they did start a revolution.