For those residing in (or passing through) Sydney, it is well worth a visit to the NSW State Library for the World Press Photo exhibition before it closes on June 5. Entry is free and the exhibition displays a collection of award-winning photographs from around the globe. They are exceptional photos and viewing them should prove satisfying not only for those with an interest in photography but also for those who can appreciate the power of a single image.
It is a decidedly sombre collection which, I suppose, can be put down to the fact that our world is drowning more in sorrow than in joy. There are many memorable photographs, but I lingered at the Benazir Bhutto assassination photographs: you won’t see her after the attack, but the image of the dead — innocent onlookers, naked and charred from the explosion — will capture your attention like little else. It is incredibly moving.
Of course, the beauty of these photographs is that they are so educational without needing words and hours of reading time. It will remind you of how many varied stories there are to be heard, and just how fragile life is. From the 14-year-old victim of rape to the US soldier collapsing from exhaustion after a mission in Afghanistan. It’s easy to think, from a distance, that we understand what’s going on. Yet life is never so simple.
7 comments ↓
Of course I’m not knocking the exhibition or photography in general, but it made me think …
I haven’t had a TV for a decade now and until recently I didn’t have broadband so youtube was out of the question. So I have seen very little video of world events. I didn’t even see the 9/11 attack until some years later, and then only once or twice.
I suspect that this means that I haven’t had as visceral a reaction to disasters and infamies (the staple of TV) as most TV watchers, and I suspect that my view of events is more distant (callous? sensible?) than most TV watchers’.
erm, sorry, my point re the photos is that they’re art, not life, and they cause aesthetic and emotional reractions rather than reasoned ones. Good fun but not good education.
That’s a bleak idea of what constitutes education. Of course photography can be educational, particularly when it depicts a situation or idea of which you had no conception. You can’t dismiss the truth and educational value of a photograph simply because it’s artistic and draws out emotion from the viewer. Does everything have to be based on detached ‘reason’ (which in itself is subjective)?
Amal - of course I agree that art is the highest expression of the human spirit etc etc, and that ‘truth is beauty, beauty truth’ and all that aesthete stuff.
But while I agree that art is educational, of course, you can never take art at face value. By definition, art is pushing an idea that may or may not be obvious.
For example, an astounding Ansel Adams photo of a landscape might teach us that landscapes can be awe-inspiring, but if you then set it as your screensaver and moon about the inherent loveliness of the Sierras you’ve missed the point. ANY landscape can be equally as lovely in the hands of a great artist.
Etc. Don’t want to make too big a deal of this, but you need to be aware that photographers are artists and art is not what it seems (again, by definition).
I won’t make a big deal of it at all… I was just responding to your comment.
But I can’t say the same for Sara Tancredi… Don’t worry, maybe she won’t read this thread.
I would that think that recognising Allah as sovereign is the highest expression of the human spirit.
Of course you would - you’re obliged to. Luckily I can decide for myself.
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