Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/11/10

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Subject: [Leica] Robert Bergman - Street Photography
From: jayanand at gmail.com (Jayanand Govindaraj)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:26:44 +0530
References: <200911102219.CAN30919@rg5.comporium.net>

Tina,
Interesting. Thanks for sharing - there is a slideshow of his portraits on
WSJ:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574445390823842348.html#project%3DSLIDESHOW08%26s%3DSB10001424052748703298004574455443782043218%26articleTabs%3Dslideshow

Cheers
Jayanand

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 3:49 AM, Tina Manley <images at comporium.net> wrote:

> NPR just had a story about Robert Bergman, who has a show at the National
> Gallery of Art. I thought it was interesting that they referred to his work
> as "street photography" even though he asks the subjects for permission and
> they are aware that their portrait is being made. Here are two articles:
>
> <http://www.brooklynrail.org/2004/05/art/bergman>
> http://www.brooklynrail.org/2004/05/art/bergman
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...101202981.html
>
> This is an interesting quote:
>
> "The fundamental strangeness of documentary photography is the split
> between who it is of and who it is for?the split between its subjects and
> its audience. The documentary photograph is intended to move "you" (the
> middle class magazine or newspaper reader or the upper middle class art
> lover) to do something. Here?s a test: what does any given photograph make
> you want to do? Lewis Hine says change the child labor laws; Margaret
> Bourke-White says add fluoride to the water, give at your church, and stay
> the hell away from the bad side of town; Dorothea Lange says improve the
> treatment of migrant workers; Robert Frank says quit your job and see
> America (but you won?t always like what you see); Richard Avedon says look
> as long as you like?they can?t see you or stop you; Martha Rosler says 
> leave
> the bums alone. When you look at a Robert Bergman photograph, you don?t
> think "Oh gee, I should give more to the United Way," but that maybe "you"
> are missing something by not treating everyone you encounter as a full 
> human
> being."
>
> Read, too, about how he makes his inkjet prints.
>
> No, he uses Nikon 35mm ;-)
>
> Tina
> <http://www.tinamanley.com>www.tinamanley.com
>
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In reply to: Message from images at comporium.net (Tina Manley) ([Leica] Robert Bergman - Street Photography)