Richard E. Byrd claimed to fly over the North Pole in 1926. During the flight, this image was sent via radio transmissions from London to New York, a pretty amazing feat at the time.
It looks pretty boring, if you ask me. Where's the pub?
Next up is Ernest Sisto's photo of the Empire State Building after a B-25 flew into it in 1945, a tragedy which killed 14 people.
Apparently Sisto dangled over a thin ledge while some fellow newsies held him by his ankles.
This last photo from Stephen Crowley is reinvigorated by the looming presidential campaigns, despite the fact that G.W. won't be running.
I don't think the lady in purple will be leaving a very big tip.
Kimmelman ends the piece with the assertion that the Serbian funeral photo (which can be found by following the Kimmelman link above) and the suffering it reveals are "proof not only that art imitates life but that life, when captured in the most profound news photograph, is art."
What do you think, is photojournalism art?
3 comments:
I'm glad you found those photos! I read the article and was curious, but was too lazy to actually go look for them.
Photojournalism: I don't think photojournalism should be art, because art is generally supposed to be a representation of the artist's take on things (subjective) whereas journalism is always supposed to be objective...but what is and what should be are not often the same thing...
Sorry I didn't reply sooner ...
Anyway, I think you're right when you suggest photojournalism shouldn't be art, but it's so hard to agree after seeing some of the most influential images of our time. Photos as profound as Fournier's "Omayra" often convey more than "this happened on this day." "Omayra" speaks to the helplessness of man, and the overwhelming power of nature.
This image and others like it become social commentaries, and, by making such powerful statements, I believe they also become art.
I'd say it's definitely art, but I have a pretty broad interpretation of what is defined as art. Photojournalists try to make the viewer feel something.
Also, journalism is never subjective, it's just harder to pick up on in text.
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