Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/08/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Nathan-- Thank you for that. Artists must be held to higher standards than everyone else, I believe. That is the responsibility of the artist, to have a conscience, to be introspective, to act in a way that is connected to a higher human purpose. For anyone to say that she was merely a puppet, or that she had no say in what she did, is to ignore all the extraordinary efforts of every ordinary person who risked his or her life to resist, to hide a persecuted individual or family, or who actively sabotaged the regime. Of course we have to hold them responsible for their actions, just as everyone else should be held responsible for theirs. Artists are not just blank slates waiting to be written upon or manipulated by whoever happens to be in power. There were plenty who chose death rather than to denounce their fellow human beings. Kit -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+kitmc=vuelux.com@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+kitmc=vuelux.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Nathan Wajsman Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 9:20 PM To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] Leni Riefenstahl Marc James Small wrote: > Are we to judge them as propagandists for the ideologies of the states in > which they live or are we to judge them as technicians producing some of > the finest cinematography ever made? We know little of Eisenstein's > feelings but we do have a really good feel on Reifenstahl. > To just look at the technical prowess of someone like Riefenstahl without reference to her enthusiastic support for the Nazis is sterile. She was not just someone who played along with the regime in order to survive; she was a committed supporter. As such I reject her work totally. I have no desire to have a book of her photographs on my shelf, just as I have no need to have Mein Kampf there. Nathan -- Nathan Wajsman Almere, The Netherlands General photography: http://www.nathanfoto.com Seville photography: http://www.fotosevilla.com _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information