RE: [Leica] Political Correctness

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

Tina - You know I'm not one to ever say what I think..;-)...But I think that
the reaction is really pretty revolting...You are a photographer. Period.
You are not a "woman photographer," a "South Carolinian Photographer," or a
"First World Photographer." You are a  photographically skilled artist and
documentarian with a camera, who, because of the strength of your
interpersonal skills and photographic skills, your subjects have welcomed
into their lives.

Your subjects, be they in Honduras or Charleston, are NOT photographers,
nor, for that matter, are they writers. They are farmers, etc. The idea that
one should be politically correct and build a book around them taking "happy
snaps," or "sad snaps" as the case may be, is so politically correct as to
be really laughable - were it not so sad and dangerous. If someone wants to
do a book like that, fine. But that is not the book, with all due respect,
that you should be doing.

And by the way, why is it more than legit for Sabastio Salgado to travel
around the world documenting the misery of third worlders, while it isn't
for you? Yes, he was born in Brazil - to a middle class family. He is as
much a third worlder as I am - and I am most assuredly not. Is Nachtwey a
third worlder? Is Eugene Richards a poor black?

Stick to your mission. Stick to your art. You will find a publisher,
galleries, etc.....

B. D.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Tina Manley
> Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 7:18 AM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] Political Correctness
>
>
> 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
>
>