Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mark wrote "When Kyle gets over the shock of having a psychologist tell him he has bypassed all ethical considerations"... What most led me to write what I did was Kyle's own statement that Mary Ellen Mark told him it would be a Bad Idea, but, "I am, as you all know, unencumbered by ethics." Actually, I don't believe this is true of him and think that he said that precisely because he does have ethics and was bothered by what he had been a part of. Whether we act ethically or not is clearly relevant to the posters on this list. Many of the ensuing posts were from people who insisted that what he did was justifiable and, presumably, ethical. One quality of photography is that we are all watchers, who like to look, and use that part of ourselves to create photographs. This is no more odd than to say that performers like to be seen. To record people meaningfully we try to connect with them in some manner, so that we convey some part of their humanity to the viewer, who feels this connection and reacts to it. John Brownlow's photographs are wonderful examples of this, as are Jim Megargee's. It is a high standard to aspire to. I am not afraid of the subject matter of cutting, and would welcome an essay that illuminated it. But what have you learned about this from the essay, other than that it exists and that you know nothing about it? You have not connected with that girl nor have any understanding of her. I suspect some have admired Kyle for making the effort, which is different from having succeeded. I felt Kyle's photographs did not succeed for me partially because it is not clear what he was trying to do. It is extremely difficult to portray the state of mind of women who cut themselves. But maybe this is not what he intended. I was troubled also by Kyle's seemingly being a part of what she did, which is very different from being a documentary photographer. She seemed to be cutting herself, at the end, for Kyle so he could photograph it. I am sure this is not what he intended, but one photograph appeared to show her cutting herself. These actions are very complex. What is the role of a photographer here? Can he know what the effect on her would be of his having photographed her? What would the effect on her have been if he had instead told her that he would NOT photograph her because he would not want her to hurt herself? I do have strong views on this, but they come from having worked intensively for thirty years with patients who have been very depressed and have cut themselves regularly. My teenage sons have friends who have cut themselves, have attempted suicide, and have succeeded. One girl at their school hanged herself last year. A boy at another school shot himself in the head. There is barely a school or family anywhere without some exposure to this. I do not pretend my photographs are better or deeper than anyone's, and have generally been quiet on this list, or have made comments on developers or my beloved Leicas. As soon as I can figure out how to do it, I will set up a website and show some of the portraits, theater photography, and photographs of Italy I have done over the last few years, and will welcome any feedback you have, as I know I have a lot to learn. And, I look forward to Kyle's future pictures and posts. Jesse Hellman