Art and Photography Blog

National Geographic Releases Reza War + Peace: A Photographer’s Journey

National Geographic recently sent me a much appreciated review copy of REZA WAR + PEACE, a large format 30-year retrospective of the work of the award-winning photojournalist and humanitarian Reza. As their release states, he has “devoted his life to bearing witness through his camera to the struggles and hopes of oppressed people around the world…this remarkable photographer chronicles his travels to places of conflict through exquisite images that pair turmoil with hope, joy with despair.” I would have to agree. The book is full of moving images from the Middle East, Africa and other places in conflict. It is certainly a page turner in the best sense of the word, except that you also want to go slowly to absorb each image.

The introduction is written by the novelist, Sebastian Junger who wrote The Perfect Storm. Sebastian writes about the experience he shared with Reza in northern Afghanistan in 2000. They were in the middle of conflict, traveling with Ahmad Massoud, an anti-Taliban leader. He writes about the depth of Reza’s connection to those he photographs and his unwillingness to back these people more abstract as a psychological self-defense. As a result his pictures achieve a greater emotional depth as well as a more profound artistic accomplishment.

The book site writes that “Reza’s journey has taken him from his native Iran, where he was jailed and tortured because of his photography, to dozens of countries gripped by turmoil — from Kurdistan to Egypt, Lebanon to Turkey, China to Israel, Somalia to South Africa. Through his lens, which captures not just conflict, but friendship, loyalty, family life and love, he takes us to such regions as northern Pakistan, where cultural shock and mutual incomprehension are deepening the gap between the American military and people in the tribal zones; Libya, a country making strides in economic and social well-being, but not in basic freedoms; Saudi Arabia, ruled by oil-rich princes whose opulent lives are in stark contrast to those of the “guest workers” who serve them; and Afghanistan, whose land and people have deeply touched Reza, helping him find his way in the labyrinth of his own nomadic life.”

There are portraits of leaders such as Yassar Arafat, Benazir Bhutto and Indira Gandhi. I was especially moved by the images of Benazir Bhutto, given her fate. The vast majority of pictures are of unnamed and unknown people who serve as representatives of their fellow country men and women, boys and girls, and even animals. The latter comes through clearly in a picture of boy and his large white horse in Turkmenistan. Here the horse captures the boys attention while the horse looks into the camera to hold ours. There are pictures of joy like two smiling girls dancing in front of what looks like a distant explosion in Turkmenistan and a boy playing with a balloon in Turkey. There are many pictures of people looking directly and intently into the camera who convey a sense of connection with the photographer that can extend through him to the reader. There are also many pictures of the tragedy that conflict brings. Reza provides the context in narratives on many of the pictures. This is a moving book that I highly recommend.

New Orleans Provides Outdoor Art on a Big Scale

The New York Times recently covered what is billed as the largest exhibition of contemporary art ever held on American soil – see New Orleans Rising, by Hammer and Art. I have written about the situation in New Orleans, my home town, after several visits. See New Orleans Update Part One: the Paradox of Two Cities (2006) and New Orleans Update 2007 Part One: the Paradox of Two Cities Remains.

This event, Prospect.1 New Orleans, a new art biennial that opened there on October 28 and continue through Jan. 18. There is a roster of 81 artists and a projected 50,000 visitors from out of town. This would be a good thing for the local economy. Here are some expamples:

“Some of the art refers directly to Hurricane Katrina, like Ms. Mutu’s “ghost house,” which sits on the property of an elderly woman whose attempts to rebuild were stymied by a vanishing contractor. But most of it does not have to. In a shedlike community center a few blocks from the ghost house, the New York artist Janine Antoni has deposited a “soft wrecking ball” made of lead and scarred by the act of demolition. Nearby, the Chilean artist Sebastián Preece has excavated the foundation of a Lower Ninth Ward house and transplanted it elsewhere. Adam Cvijanovic, another New York artist, has taken a page from traditional New Orleans style and, in an unused house, installed a custom wallpaper that presents a lavish scene of a waterlogged swamp with no humans in sight…Miguel Palma, a Portuguese artist, is building a modified Higgins boat, a World War II vessel manufactured in New Orleans that, in Mr. Palma’s version, contains a mini-tsunami.”

Let’s hope they do it in style. Hundreds of residents have volunteered to act as docents, provide exhibition sites (admission to all events is free) and assist the artists. There are a number of related art events with local artists going on at the same time. Nine of 81 in the exhibit are from Louisiana. I would like to get down there to see this experiment.

Four Pioneers in Photography and Travel Journalism from National Geographic

Here is another great photography book from National Geographic, Odysseys and Photographs. I was kindly sent this book for a review. (see my past reviews of Visions of Paradise from National Geographic and The Life of a Photographer – Sam Abell.) In this case the book shows the works of four great National Geographic “field men”: Maynard Owen Williams (1919 – 1953), Luis Marden (1934 – 1976), Volkmar Wentzel (1937 – 1985) and Thomas Abercrombie (1956 – 1994). All four also wrote the stories they photographed. If you are a fan of classic National Geographic photography this is a book for you.

I have saved many of my old National Geographics as a subscriber since the 1970s. I have also picked up some older ones at second hand book stores. This book is like a greatest hits from that collection, which it is in fact. I could not stop looking at the wonderful pictures of exotic locations from the 20th century, especially the first half.

It was hard to pick a favorite. I started liking Maynard Owen Williams as he represented the oldest grouping of pictures. Seeing exotic places in the 1920s and 30s remains hard to top. I especially liked the pictures he took on the first overland expedition across Asia since Marco Polo’s efforts. He was the lone American in this group sponsored by Andre Citroen, the French automaker. They departed in 1931 and encountered numerous adventures, including a 2,300 mile retreat from a Chinese war lord.

However, as I looked at each one it became impossible to pick a favorite. It is hard to top Thomas Abercrombie’s picture of an elderly shepherdess with her small flock as the spot lighted foreground for a panoramic view of lamasery in the high mountains of northern India.

Sam Abell wrote the epilogue and discussed the inspiration that these four photographers provided to his generation. The book tells their story and provides highlights of their work. It is treasure that calls for frequent visits.