Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/07/18

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Political Correctness
From: Ken Wilcox <wilcox@tir.com>
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 07:49:50 -0400

Tina:

I find such an attitude outrageous! Think of the many photos that we would
be without if such an attitude existed historically. By extension of this
"logic" I, as a middle class person should not be allowed to photograph
"poor" people? Should the rich folks not be allowed to photograph me?
Outrageous!

I suppose if you had done a from below that you then would be accused of
exploiting the families that had actually taken the pictures because YOU
were exhibiting them. Can't win.

Ken Wilcox

At 7:18 -0400 7/18/0, a fine scholar, Tina Manley wrote:

>Dear LUGnuts -
>
>The Project Workshop in Santa Fe with Sam Abell was very good.  Sam is a
>wonderful teacher; however, I learned something that was both enlightening
>and disturbing.
>
>My project is "Las Familias" - an exhibit (possibly book) of my photographs
>of Honduran families.  I learned that many galleries will not accept my
>project because it is politically incorrect - I am a photographer from the
>first world photographing people in the third world.  To make the project
>more acceptable it was suggested that I involve the families in the project
>by (a) giving them a camera and letting them photograph their own lives (b)
>getting them to write comments about the photographs.  (a) wouldn't work
>because the people I visit don't have time to take photographs - they spend
>all of their waking hours trying to feed their families (b) might work with
>a tape recorder but many of the people I photograph don't read or write -
>and several of the families in the project were killed by Hurricane Mitch -
>do I exclude those photographs?
>
>What do you think about political correctness?  Gallery owners and
>publishers who reviewed our work seemed to think it is an important issue,
>but it honestly never occurred to me.
>
>Leically,
>
>Tina
>
>
>Tina Manley, ASMP
>http://www.tinamanley.com


- ----
Ken Wilcox                                Carolyn's Personal Touch Portraits
					  preferred---> <wilcox@tir.com>
 		      			  <kwilcox@gfn.org> 

Replies: Reply from Stephen Gandy <Stephen@CameraQuest.com> (Re: [Leica] Re: Political Correctness)