by Naeve Molho
‘Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by
holding it still’ - Dorothea Lange
Throughout
our lives we are met with hundreds and thousands of images in magazines, books,
adverts and all other media imaginable. Rarely do we think about the origin of
these images. We are censored to forget
that the people pictured are real people
in real scenarios, brought to us on the glossy pages of a magazine, or through
the scroll of a facebook newsfeed . So
what is really happening in these pictures? Who are these people? But most
importantly what happened to them?
Afghan Girl
 |
| Left: the original portrait appearing in National Geographic, right : Sharbut Gula today |
The
‘Afghan Girl’ is one of the most famous portraits of all time, photographed by
Steve Mcurry, and first appearing in ‘The National Geographic’ in 1985. Likened to ‘The First World’s Third World
Mona Lisa’ Sharbut Gula was 12 years old when she was photographed in
Pakistan's largest refugee camp due to the Soviet Union invasion in 1979. After
the release of the photo Sharbut was offered numerous modeling contracts
including a chance to flee to the West yet she refused . Since the photo was
taken she married Rahmat Gul at the age of 13 becoming a mother to 3 children
while soon after becoming a widow, putting her survival down to ‘the will of
God’. She suffers from Hepatitis and most recently received media coverage due
to her 15 day jail sentence and fine in 2016 for using an unauthorised
identification card. Her illness and ‘ international status as a symbol for
refugees’ has been to thank for her early release back to Afghanistan as she
could have been facing 14 years in prison.
VJ Day Times Square kiss
 |
| Add capA sailor and a nurse kiss in Manhattan's Times Square, as New York City celebrates the end of the Second World War CREDIT: ALFRED EISENSTAEDT//TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTYtion |
On August
14th 1945 renowned photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured a photo that would
represent the end of the war and in particular VJ Day (Victoryover Japan
day). Many believe the photo represents
the spontaneity provoked by happiness
in learning the war was over while numerous bloggers have suggested it is a
glamorised picture of sexual assault.
The sailor depicted is believed to be George Mendonsa who had been with
his girlfriend after spending two years serving in the Pacific. Meanwhile the woman is said to be Greta
Friedman, a dental assistant dressed in a nurses uniform. Despite being noted as one of the most
romantic images of all time Friedman revealed ‘ the kiss was not a romantic
event but more of a jubilant act that he didn't have to go back. He grabbed
someone dressed like a nurse because he felt grateful to those who had taken
care of him’. This photo is romanticised through the viewer's imagination and
individual interpretation rather than hard fact. Sometimes the truth behind photos can in fact
distort the image as the story changes.
The perfect Aryan
 |
| Add caPhoto: Ohad Zwigenberg, Yedioth Ahoronot |
After
having her picture innocently taken one day amidst the horror and misery of
Nazi rule, Hessy Taft soon became ‘the perfect Aryan’ baby. TThe photo was
published in hundreds of magazines, newspapers, postcards and posters yet
little did everyone know, Hessy Taft was a Jew. In fact the photo had been sent
by the photographer who had happened to photograph her weeks earlier stating ‘
I was asked to submit my 10 best pictures for a beauty contest run by the
Nazis. I sent your baby's picture as one of them, a perfect example of the
Aryan race to further Nazi philosophy…. I wanted to allow myself the pleasure
of this joke.’ Hessey Taft, now 80 and a
chemistry professor in New York, fled Germany, shortly after the photo was
taken, to Cuba.
Napalm Girl
June 8, 1972: Kim Phúc, center left,
running down a road naked near Trang Bang after a South Vietnamese Air Force
napalm attack (Nick Ut / The Associated Press)
 |
| Add c2015 Kim on left pictured next to Nick Ut(photographer of Napalm Girl) who won the Pulitzer prize for the hauntingly unforgettable image |
 |
| Nick Ut/AP - Kim pictured in 2015 with the scars on her back from the attack |
The first
picture depicts 9 year old Phan Thi Kim
Phuc running in the road after being burned by a South Vietnamese napalm
attack. The photograph was taken in 1972 during the Vietnam war by Nick Ut. Kim
had been a resident of Trang Bang when she had decided to join a group of
civilians who unfortunately were wrongly identified as enemy soldiers by a
South Vietnamese air force pilot. They attacked leading to multiple deaths
within her village and burns all down Kim's back. She remembers yelling Nóng quá, nóng quá
("too hot, too hot") while the picture was taken. Ut took Kim to Barksy hospital where after a
14 month stay and 17 procedures Kim was able return home. Ut tells how ‘ once Presidnet Nixon doubted
the authenticity of my photograph when he saw it in the papers asking ‘I'm
wondering if that was fixed’ ….The picture for me and unquestionably for many
others could not have been more real. The photo was as authentic as the Vietnam
War itself. The horror of the Vietnam War recorded by me did not have to be
fixed.’. Today Kim is a Canadian resident and creator of the Kim Phuc
Foudnation ‘with the aim of providing medical and psychological assistance to
child victims of war’ and her and Ut remain friends.
The Migrant mother
 |
| Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print |
 |
| Thompson (seated) with three of her daughters, (from l. to r.) Katherine, Ruby and Norma, in 1979—43 years after Migrant Mother |
The
‘Migrant Mother’ was taken as part of a series by Dorothea Lange of Florence
Owens Thompson and her children in 1936 California. Lange says ‘I saw and
approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not
remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she
asked me no questions.’. The series of images were titled ‘Destitute pea
pickers in California. Mother of seven children’. Despite this being an
unforgettable image Thompson said Lange would never publish the photos
however, as soon as they were published
the camp they lived in received 20 000 pounds of food. Thompson later went on to have more children
totalling 10 altogether and was bought a house in California by them. Despite
the choice of luxury she strongly preferred life in a mobile home and later
moved back into one. When Thompson
became ill her publicity from the photo helped them to collect $35000 in
donations paying for medical care. Her daughter said ‘For Mama and us, the
photo had always been a bit of curse. After all those letters came in, I think
it gave us a sense of pride.’. Dorotheas identity was unknown for 40 years
which did not hinder the appeal or status of the photo ‘ Migrant Mother,
"has achieved near mythical status, symbolizing, if not defining, an
entire era in United States history.’
Next time
you see an image, I encourage you to question its origin and the story behind
the fixed photograph that you see.
‘Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part
of the past’- Berenice Abbott
This is very interesting and inspiring.
ReplyDelete