I've put together a photo essay for the agency Magnum, to mark their 60th anniversary. It's called Covering Conflict and looks at some of the most memorable war photographs from the past six decades. You can look at the pictures, and listen to my commentary, .
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The images are striking, startling and depressing. I salute the skill daring and determination of the phtographers in getting these.
I do however, ponder on what we can learn from this. We are as a species unique in that we have a huge capacity to adapt and learn with one immense blind spot that gives rise to war and conflict. We have not learned and I suspect will in all probability fail to learn that war and conflict have achieved in all but a tiny minority of cases, nothing.
I suspect that Magnum will continue to produce striking startling and depressing images for many years to come and so they should as we must be constantly reminded that a war in a far off field is now not so far off in comparison to when Magnum started their work.
Complain about this postGreat selection of images, and thought-provoking commentary. Very humbling. Thanks.
Complain about this post1. The images are too painful to watch. By concentrating on the awful extremes of the human condition they bring only despair. You suggest they make one think. Intense exposure to such images so numbs the mind that one can not bear to think.
2. It remains to be seen whether the destruction of the twin towers is the most important news story you will ever cover.
Complain about this postThe pictures are very powerful and moving. They affirm the duplicity of wars:
Hope and Hopelessness;
Courage and Fear;
Joy and Sadness.
One side is hopeful because the other side has no hope. One side is victorious because the other side is defeated.
What is remarkable about wars is that no single state is permanent. Courage can quickly turn to Fear; and Joy to Sadness....and being alive to being dead (that is however, is a permanent state!).
I am concerned that some of these images gain iconic status and are admired for their aesthetic beauty rather than reflecting the brutality of war.
Then again, how gory can you make the pictures without alienating the target audience.
Complain about this postReminds me of snapshots of my last vacation. Well maybe mine were a little more out of focus. The London suburbs and Nottingham can be scary places at times, especially late at night. :-)
Complain about this postVery good, but I must seriously take issue with the nonsensical hyperbole that 'September 11th 2001' was when the 'world changed' and that this is the 'most important story you will ever cover'.
How ridiculous. Are 3000 Americans more important than the 250, 000 who died in the Boxing Day Tsunami ?
'The day the world changed' ? Only because the US were foolish enough to believe it was the 'most significant event' and over-reacted accordingly.
'The day the world changed' ? Do you seriously believe that Iraq was invaded only because of that attack ? That was being planned and considered a long time before those planes had hit the 'Twin Towers'.
But the photographs as a whole, and commentary on them, were more balanced and rather more circumspect than your focus on that one day.
Complain about this postI too had to stop and think ... is 9/11 really the biggest news story of our time? has it changed the world forever? perhaps if we reflect on where we are politically right now we can see that the ramifications of that day continue to vibrate on our today and on our tomorrow.
Complain about this postI can't read the comments on this blog. When I click the 'comments' link on this entry for example, I just get the 'post a comment' form.
Complain about this postApologies, Trevor. There was a technical problem, but it's now been resolved so I hope you can see all the comments.
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