Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/11/21

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Subject: RE: [Leica] XXX of the YYY? WAS (something else) (fwd)
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 07:48:41 -0500

Easy, big guy..:-) I wasn't criticizing the photographers - many of whom
are among the Greats - or the work, which speaks for itself. I was
simply pointing out that the work IS propaganda, produced for a
government propaganda agency, and needs to be considered on those terms.
That was NOT what we would today call documentary work or
photojournalism. Those photographers weren't told - go document life in
America during the Great Depression; nor were they told to go document
the lives of people in the Midwest and West during the Great Depression
- - they were told to go get photographs of poor people which would move
the great mass of people and put pressure on Congress to pass a very
specific set of social programs. And that doesn't strike me as any
different from putting a banner that says "Mission Accomplished" on an
aircraft carrier onto which a formerly AWOL Texas Air National Guard
pilot will be flown in a flight suit so that he can make a victory
speech to the American people. ;-)

B. D.
Stirring the pot every few days keeps the food for thought from sticking
to the bottom!

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Eric Welch
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 9:39 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] XXX of the YYY? WAS (something else) (fwd)


Well, for one thing this happened before there was any kind of 
formation of those concepts as we understand them now. Even so many of 
the photos were close enough considering the development of the 
profession in those days.

On Nov 20, 2003, at 10:38 AM, B. D. Colen wrote:

> Yes, they produced gorgeous work - but it
> was NOT documentary photography or photojournalism is any sense that 
> those terms are commonly understood;

Eric Welch
Carlsbad, CA
http://www.jphotog.com

Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco. - Will Rogers.

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Replies: Reply from Eric Welch <eric@jphotog.com> (Re: [Leica] XXX of the YYY? WAS (something else) (fwd))