“A Culture of Hate”

A while ago I wrote about a very touching and horrifying photographic report on the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. Now, I visited Magnum in Motion again since I was looking for another feature. But first, I stumbled upon something else, covering a more recent event.

A couple of Magnum photographers were in place in New York on that fateful day on September 11th, 2001. From their coverage, Magnum has put together a very aggrieving photo essay. Like in other Magnum essays, the photographers themselves talk about their experiences during their work, which really is a work inside the chaos. As everyone is running from the place of disaster, they go against the tide and make their way directly into the eye of the storm, so to speak. Which is essentially their job, be it in New York on 9/11 or in countries where civil war is raging or places where people are living in extreme poverty and dying of hunger. These people are producing the images that reach us through the media. In fact, they are the ones who give tragedies a face. I wouldn't have the guts to do this job, I think it requires a very, very enduring and resistant psyche and personality. I think of it as a very double-edged task. But this is not the theme of this post. Instead, I suggest to watch the show and listen to what the photographers have to say about that day and everything that followed.

The actual reason for me to go to the Magnum site though, was because I was looking for an essay about Magnum photographer Thomas Hoepker. In fact, the 9/11 essay features some of his photos of that day as well. Hoepker is considered one of the most influential German documentary photographers, his photos having been printed in many publications throughout his carreer, which took him all over the world, working for magazines and agencies, on both photographic assignments as well as films. The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg is currently showing an exhibition covering 50 years of his photography. An accompanying book has also been released. The exhibition is very impressive and definitely recommended. In the very impressive Magnum feature, you can see a selection of his works along with his audio commentary on selected photos and his work in general.

Also in that context, the recently published World Press Photo of the Year 2006 reminds me a lot of Hoepker's 9/11 photo of a small group of young people relaxing by the shore with the burning towers in the background. In both cases, there is a weird and almost surreal combination of catharsis and disaster. The World Press Photo exihibition has been one of my must-see events since 2005. The exhibition is touring the world during the upcoming year, stopping off at Hamburg usually in May. Since it's not only an impressive, saddening and disturbing show, but can also be witnessed for free, it's a recommendation for everyone who's not necessarily interested in photography specifically, but in world affairs generally.

Comments

Cathy – 2007-02-16 02:55:08 Tobias – 2007-03-02 20:49:28 Cathy – 2007-03-03 19:40:55

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Life Photography New York