Re: [Leica] ELEKTRONIX

[Guy Bennett <2bennett@wanadoo.fr>]

>>This is another interesting question that I was thinking about in relation
>>to Salgado, namely, his "real world" impact. Do his photos still appear in
>>magazines (i.e. in mass media publications) as they once did, or are they
>>now published exclusively in books produced by his own company and
>>exhibited in museums? If that is the case, it would seem that his influence
>>would be exercised mostly on the museum going, photo book buying public (in
>>other words, a relatively small portion of the population), and in that
>>case, as perhaps with Frank, I don't know, he would seem to be preaching to
>>the choir.
>>Guy
>
>But this is not Salgado's fault.  All of the great mass media publications
>that featured documentary photography are gone.  Salgado's work does appear
>in photography magazines and publication like "Mother Jones", but that is
>again preaching to the choir.  The days of projects of documentary
>photographers being sponsored by mass media publications are long
>gone.  Today, photographers have to make their own markets.
>Tina


Tina,

I was not trying to imply that Salgado - or anybody for that matter - was
to blame for what could be called the commodification of reportage
photography. And I'd just like to say, so that there not be any
misunderstanding where I stand on the question (as I'm afraid my posts on
the subject might lead folk to believe otherwise), that I very much admire
Salgado's vision and integrity, and am in awe of his work, both for its
intense humanity, and for its high aesthetic quality.

I should add that, first and foremost, I admire Salgado as an artist and
photographer, and I don't mean by that somebody who just makes pretty
pictures, which is a derogatory definition of "artist" that I personally
find unacceptable. I mean somebody who has something meaningful to
contribute, something that could change the way we look at and understand
the world around us and possibly make us different, potentially better
people, and who is able to do so in a form remarkable for its aesthetic
quality.

I'm simply curious about how work like Salgado's (or HCB's, or Capa's, or
Smith's, etc., etc.) somehow or other passes from the sphere of committed,
humanitarian photography intended ideally for mass distribution into that
of the art gallery, museum and coffee table book, aimed at a limited, but
well-defined market. Perhaps it's just a characteristic of western society,
which tends to relate to the world in consumerist terms, perhaps it's
something more, I don't know. It's a question that I find both troubling
and interesting, and am happy to see it addressed here on the list.

Guy