Re: [Leica] ELEKTRONIX

[Guy Bennett <2bennett@wanadoo.fr>]

>Guy Bennett wrote:
>>
>> This to me is a fascinating question, and I have to say that I side with
>> Smith, that is, with his idea that what the camera shows is not necessarily
>> the truth, and that the photographer must intervene to make the statement
>> he feels is closest to the truth. Smith claimed to know what the truth was
>> in those situations where he was making pictures, and had absolutely no
>> qualms about manipulating his prints tremendously to reveal that truth.
>> Ultimately, he seems to be saying two things: there is no objective truth,
>> and the artist must be free to reveal what he can about the truth as he
>> understands it.
>
>Yes, although this raises the usual very difficult questions about
>photography and "truth."


And, historically, any kind of image made by a person and "truth."
(Interestingly, the same is not true of writing, which no one generally
supposes to a vehicle of "truth." An implicit demonstration of our tendency
to accept that "seeing is believing"...?)


>> >Terrific body of work...Don't think however that it had a damn thing to
>> >do with the civil rights movement... [snip]
>> >Didn't have a damn thing to do with a Swiss photographer, who may have
>> >had great impact on the photo and art world, but that's a pretty insular
>> >world....
>>
>> This is another interesting question that I was thinking about in relation
>> to Salgado, namely, his "real world" impact. Do his photos still appear in
>> magazines (i.e. in mass media publications) as they once did, or are they
>> now published exclusively in books produced by his own company and
>> exhibited in museums? If that is the case, it would seem that his influence
>> would be exercised mostly on the museum going, photo book buying public (in
>> other words, a relatively small portion of the population), and in that
>> case, as perhaps with Frank, I don't know, he would seem to be preaching to
>> the choir.
>
>I'm afraid that any photographer whose work is largely confined to photo
>books and exhibitions is, largely, preaching to the choir...Although God
>knows the choir is made up of folks not only often singing in different
>keys, but singing totally different songs at the same time....Look at
>the LUG for proof of that...While the majority of political opinion in
>this group would seem to rest to the right of center - and some to the
>far right - there is also a smattering of left of center to far
>left...so it is possible that there may be some conversions in the
>choir.....;-)....But to have real impact I think a photojournalist or
>documentary photographer has to have mass outlets....as Nachtwey does
>with Time....
>B. D.


I agree.

Salgado's work used to appear in mags, don't know if it still does.
Ironically, pages of "Paris Match" containing certain of his Rwanda photos
were displayed in cases at his "Migrations" exhibit in Paris last summer.
Not that this in any way dimishes the power and integrity of his
photographs; if this is the case it just means that his message is being
diffused in a very special way to a select group of people. Which is the
true of much great art.

Guy