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After the world stops looking – an Afghan photographer’s Pulitzer prize

Ciara Leeming — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:28:24 +0000

Interesting piece over on the Grauniad on Massoud Hossaini, the recent winner of a Pulitzer prize. Worth your time.

Everybody Hurts

Madeleine Corcoran — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:30:40 +0000

Ken cries too; Men cry too – and we’ve got the pictures to prove it. Images of Putin with tears springing from his peepers at his recent re-election as president got me thinking about what it means when men, especially men in power, turn on the waterworks. Then when the image below of London mayoral candidate, Ken Livingstone, came along I thought it was time to say something about these weepy men. Jonathan Jones’ of The Guardian undertook an interesting analysis of the Ken image and you can read it here: http://bit.ly/HHI0Ap . What I want to ask is, what do these tearful men tell us about the political persona and the ways in which the photograph constructs these moments of overflow?

Crying has of course long been associated with femininity, girlishness and weakness. The fear of woman as an over-emotional and irrational being can be witnessed in 19^th century medical handbooks which describe the malady of ‘Hysteria’ which affects only women and involves outbursts of uncontrolled emotion. The term hysteria itself is linked to the Greek for womb (hystera) – hence the term hysterectomy for the removal of the uterus – so weeping, wailing and fainting were seen as a disease caused by the womb; the very essence of woman was over-emotional illness. It’s an attitude still evident when a woman’s anger or upset is dismissed as pre-menstrual syndrome.

Consequently, the role of leader, which is still defined predominantly through traits we would associate with the masculine, seems the least likely to be fulfilled through crying. The qualities we often admire in a leader are somewhat ‘macho’: decisiveness, rationality and strength. This is not to say that only men possess the desired characteristics – given the chance, either gender is well able to inhabit the role. It’s rather to say that few people have voted or respected a leader for the quality of weakness, whether male or female, and crying in public is certainly judged as an exposure of weakness. We might want to question the validity of such an assumption, but I would argue that nevertheless it is fundamental.

As Johnathan Jones argues, Ken’s moment of weakness is not a flattering one. Tragedy, and by implication grief, has a nobility to it, but Ken’s hunched figure, balding scalp and scrunched up hands are more gargoyle than Hamlet. Ed Milliband looks on nervously as his colleague transforms into a kind of crumpled baby. This withered infant appearance figures the state to which we fear we will return as mind and body decay towards the end of the ageing process. I think this is indeed part of the problem with Ken’s display – it makes overtures to senility far more than it does to sincerity. Those reptilian creases in the forehead bring to mind the phrase ‘crocodile tears’ but the question of authenticity is a disturbing one. Are these contrived tears for the cameras or an uncontrollable outpour over his own manifesto video? Which case is worse? I certainly want those in power to be honest and sincere, in fact I would like them to be more emotional and indeed more connected to the suffering of others, but crying at your own manifesto video hints at delusional.

Another, undoubtedly more delusional leader, is Putin, and his tears were testament to that trait more than any other. Crying at his foregone conclusion of a re-election, Putin revealed his narcissism and his will to believe what the yes men tell him. In this moment, it seems as if Putin sees himself as the heroic son being welcomed, once again, into the open arms of Mother Russia – and he runs to her with tears in his eyes. Putin’s tears then are infinitely more disturbing than Ken’s, but on the surface, I think they create a far better impression – even though they were of course mocked throughout Russia and the World. Nevertheless, these tears do come across as a genuine overflow of passion; the exception to the rule of a supreme macho man. Either these tears were expertly choreographed or Putin really does believe his own hype, because they are perfectly decorous and noble. Putin doesn’t crumple his face, he doesn’t hide in shame like Ken, he stands proud and lets his icy blue eyes do the talking. He plays, or rather, believes he is, the Romantic hero – a man of strength and emotion. I’m not saying we should believe in this performance, although I have the suspicion that Putin himself does, but I am saying that it is well executed. Those cold eyes, those hot tears; it’s a perfect blend of passion and power. It’s appealing and I bet it seduces many – although perhaps not exactly 63% of Russian voters.

From this comparison I think we can draw two things – one about the nature of leadership and one about the politics of the photograph.

The political persona must walk a tightrope of seeming both decisiveness and powerful whilst also displaying a softer, human side. This seems ever more true as character politics continue to become of greater importance in the West. Jonathan Jones mentions Hilary Clinton’s affecting and effective moment of tears during her campaign trial in 2008, which in its aesthetic is not too distant from Putin’s; Jones argues that Hilary Clinton “visibly fought back the tears”, and that therefore when they prickled in her eyes, she came across as both composed and meaningfully emotional. Thus her tears seem to come from a place of strength whilst at the same time they reveal her ‘human’ and also, feminine, side. It strikes me that between these examples, the tightrope walked is equally as difficult for male as well as female leaders. Both carry the burden of simultaneously fulfilling and overriding elements associated with their gender. The masculine is largely prioritised whilst the feminine plays a secondary but still significant, humanising role. Either sex can inhabit this space, but both must work hard to cultivate the right balance. (The fact that the feminine is still considered secondary says much about current social and cultural hierarchies, but that is for another discussion.) Unfortunately Ken’s ‘human side’ comes across as reptilian, whilst Putin’s reptilian side is well masked by his hot tears.

However, this analysis inevitably lies within the restrictions of image making – and within this I may offer some defence for Ken. The camera does not neutrally record and the newspaper does not neutrally display. The image of Ken crumpling is a split-second moment and is selected to the rules of politic and scandal. It is an unflattering moment and could well have been chosen to be just so. It is the unflattering that is most comic and intriguing and also which may best represent vested interests. There could be other images that didn’t make the edit in which Ken cries with poise and dignity. It’s always good to be careful about reading a whole identity or position into a split-second capture – which is all that a press photograph is. There are vested interests in what we see in both the moment the shutter comes down and upon the front page.

Putin demonstrates the flip side of this dynamic. His leadership is based on a mastery of poise, a total awareness and control of the revealing nature of the photo and video. His moment of vulnerability is careful and consistent – all of the images depict the same still face, the same hopeful gaze across the crowd. Never does he crumple his posture or crease his brow. Putin doesn’t give away one moment of indignity or ugliness.

Ken starts to seem more human after all.

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Photographing the world while longing for home

Ciara Leeming — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:41:33 +0000

I found this incredibly thought-provoking. Photographer Ed Kashi on the realities of spending eight months a year away from his wife and kids.

Representing and misrepresenting the Roma

Ciara Leeming — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:34:52 +0000

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past year or so thinking about how Gypsy and Roma people are represented and misrepresented through photography. Two of my recent projects – Rethink and Elvira and Me – attempt to challenge the prevailing visual stereotypes of indigenous Gypsies and migrant Roma, two connected but separate communities. So it feels somewhat ironic that I have spent the past few days chasing websites which have stolen and then misused my work. Or perhaps it was only a matter of time.

This week I received a phone call from a pretty upset Ramona [the subject of my collaborative project Elvira and Me], who had found a photograph of herself on the internet while searching for stories in the Romanian media about Roma migrants in the UK. She was shocked to be confronted with a photo of herself selling the Big Issue within an article which had absolutely nothing to do with her – it was a story about a group of named Roma squatters who had moved into a woman’s home in London – and wanted to know if I had given it to the website. I knew the story she was talking about as I’d seen it in the Daily Mail, which used a portrait of the victim, but I was furious see the Romanian site had lifted a photo I had taken for a Guardian Society story I wrote last year, and run it with their piece.

Ramona – who no longer sells the magazine – understandably wanted the photo removed as soon as possible. She hated the idea she was being associated with criminal activity in this way.

I mentioned what had happened on Twitter while I was pondering how to proceed, and a contact with far more computer know-how than me replied to say he had found the very same image being misused elsewhere. This time it was on a British blog about deaf people, illustrating a court story which had been itself been lifted from the Manchester Evening News. This case was even more unbelievable to me – a clearly identifiable photograph of Ramona was being used to illustrate a story about a different named Roma woman from Manchester [from the very same neighbourhood as Ramona, in fact] who was prosecuted for begging using faked documents which claimed she was deaf and dumb.

So now she is apparently not only a squatter but also a convicted fraudster…

This morning I searched for another similar photograph which I have only licensed to Equality, a charity which advocates for Roma migrants in the UK. I wasn’t exactly surprised to see this one had been commandeered by a different Romanian news site, again as an illustration photograph in a highly negative story about Roma migrants in Britain. This time my friend was being associated with a highly political story about Big Issue vendors and benefits tourism.

Thankfully in all three of these cases the people behind the websites took down the offending photographs promptly after I sent a complaint by email, two of them before Ramona even knew about them or had seen them.

For me this has been a real lesson. Of course it’s annoying when people lift your photos and use them without permission, ignoring your byline and infringing your copyright. But far more serious to me is what I see as the abuse of the very essence of my work and of Ramona’s image – I described it in my complaint emails as defamation through the use of photography, and I truly believe it is. I am going to have to be very attentive from now on about how my Roma work in particular is being used and abused.

I totally understand that many people who run blogs and websites are untrained in media ethics and perhaps a little naive when it comes to the politics of visual representation. But if they are going to publish online they have a responsibility to think these matters through before stealing and then posting images completely out of context.

Crucially for me though, this has underlined the very important issue about stereotyping minority communities such as the Roma through photography.

I am convinced that had the criminals and/or alleged benefits tourists in these three news stories been ethnic Romanian as opposed to ethnic Roma, very few editors would think to use photographs in such an ill-judged way. I have worked as a writer and editor at a number of newspapers and magazines. Nowhere I have worked would we ever have used an identifiable photograph of some random person to illustrate a story about criminality committed by someone else simply because they happen to share an ethnicity….it would be big trouble if we did. So why is it ok to do so just because someone is Roma?

Is it ignorance? The idea that all Roma people are interchangeable and/or a bit suspect? The misconception that a Roma Big Issue vendor couldn’t possibly chance upon their own photograph online in the way Ramona did, and so therefore these things don’t matter? I’m not sure but it maddens me and it made Ramona furious too. I’m very fortunate that she is open minded and has colleagues who can help me explain the nature of the internet and how images can get copied and pasted in this way. Happenings like this have the potential to undermine all the trust required for a project like mine.

I really hope the people on these websites have learned something through this. Everyone makes mistakes but photographs are powerful. I will not allow my work to be abused in this way.

Above, image from Elvira and Me

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I originally put a version of this post on my own blog.

Ed Ou and his vantage point

Ciara Leeming — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:00:02 +0000

Ed Ou is a sickeningly young, talented and humble Canadian photojournalist who has spent much of the past five years covering stories in Somalia and, this year, the Arab Spring. He speaks with a lot of maturity about his journalism in this Canon interview – well worth a quick listen.

A photo’s worth 1,000 words? WPP discussion

Ciara Leeming — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:38:16 +0000

Remember Bibi Aisha, the Afghan woman whose Jodie Bieber portrait was put on the front of Time Magazine along with a controversial jingoistic strapline?

Well, the whys and wherefores about how other people’s words are used to contextualise photographers’ images will be considered at a World Press Photo discussion later this month.

Anyway, here is the blurb:

Tickets are free of charge but there are only about 150 places so you need to book at this link

What groundbreaking images of ‘Africa’ can we expect this year from Visa Festival of Shanty Towns?

duckrabbit — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:29:18 +0000

If the video running off the front page of the Visa website is anything to go by they are:

MADNESS and DESPAIR?

VIOLENCE and FEAR?

EXODUS or maybe just WALKING FOR THE BUS?

and BLACK AND WHITE STICK BENDING

I can’t wait and I’m really pleased to see that festival Director J F Leroy has taken on board the the complaints of middle class white people that it’s unfair that poor black people are given so much space at the festival. There are plenty of poor white people who live in shanty towns and they also need to be given a chance to have their lives turned around (and their voices heard) by being featured at Visa .

This photo also running off the front page is a good start:

POOR WHITE COUPLE BEING RAINED ON

(editors note, its possible not all these pictures were taken in Africa. The Visa website doesn’t seem to give captions to them)

Male rape – Guardian photofilm

Ciara Leeming — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:59:33 +0000

When I watch a photofilm in which the audio features the photographer talking about their images, I often switch off quite quickly. But when I heard Will Storr talk about his project on male survivors of rape in Congo and Uganda, I didn’t – in fact I was stopped in my tracks. I think the reason is that his delivery is so conversational – and therefore accessible – plus of course the angle of the story is somewhat different from what we are used to. The production of the photofilm could be better but the story and its delivery are very powerful. I’ve covered male rape stories myself in the past – it’s far more common even in the UK than you might think.

The battle of Byker – Amber Collective/BBC Radio 4

Ciara Leeming — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:15:16 +0000

There’s been a lot of coverage over recent months about the shock decision of the Arts Council not to continue revenue funding Newcastle’s renowned Side Gallery, run by Amber Collective, from March next year. An appeal process is underway but the folks who run the collective are looking for other sources of funding.
One of the many long-term social documentary projects carried out by Amber members is that of co-founder Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, which recently saw her return to the Newcastle estate of Byker with her camera 40 years after first living in and photographing the neighbourhood. The experience is the focus of a Radio 4 documentary, The Battle of Byker, which aired this morning and will be available for another week.

Pitch perfect storytelling

duckrabbit — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:45:27 +0000

Lots of craft going on here, in more ways than one.

Kauri multimedia are based in Spain. There is a sweetness and light to their work. Wonderful.

Etienne Bellanger always wanted to be a luthier. At a young age he spent time in a luthier workshop, where he became instantly fascinated and hooked, and ended up submerging deeper into this world.

He studied to be a luthier at the prestigious National School of Lutherie of Mirecourt and settled in Zaragoza in 2009 with the aim of developing his professional career. Lutherie of bowed instruments is almost non-existent in Spain, and Etienne, who provides a breath of fresh air in a city with practically no tradition in this art, welcomes us into his workshop to share his thoughts on music and his craft.