My Photographical Inspirations

After my discussion with Professor Hepworth today, I wanted to share about my three favorite photojournalists who have inspired me as an aspiring artist in writing, photography and ultimately impacting the world.

My hero and favorite photojournalist is William Eugene Smith who was a photographer for Life magazine. Through his photographs, he impacted the world by altering the future for those who thought their situations were hopeless; therefore, he inevitably made the world a better place. The first photo below is my favorite photograph. The emotion expressed through this picture is amazing. The first photograph is from Smith's collection while he resided in Minimata Bay, Japan. Through his work, he exposed the malpractices of the factories in the area. These factories were dumping their excess mercury into Minimata Bay where the fish were being infected. These fish, which were the main food source for the area, were then caught and sold for the people's consumption. After consuming these fish, many people became deformed; this led to many deaths. After his story was published, many American groups had a strong reaction to the photographs and the accompanying story and donated their money and time to get the mercury factories shut down. The people of Minimata Bay never had to worry about mercury poisoning again. The second and third photographs were ones that W. Eugene Smith took on the battlefield during the war and in Spain.
Another one of my favorite photojournalists is James Nachtwey. He is also a man who wanted to make a difference with his photographs. In one of his speeches, he told the audience, "I use the formal aesthetics of photography not for their own sake, but as a tool for social awareness. I want the immediate effect of my photographs to establish a direct relationship between the viewer and the people in the picture." He spoke about the power of photography in shaping public opinion, a tool for creating change and the obligation of journalists to exploit those resources. "It's easy to be cynical about photography, to dismiss its power to create change," Nachtwey said. "But it has made a difference, against all odds, sometimes in great ways, sometimes small. As long as there are things happening in this world that cry out for change, photography will continue to be a factor in the process." Nachtwey believes that war is a turning point in history and, as a photojournalist, it is his duty to document that contemporary history. "I want my photographs to be published while the event is still taking place so that the images become part of society's daily dialogue and consequently become an element in the process of change," he said. "Ultimately, I want my pictures to become a part of our collective memory."
Steve McCurry is another one of my favorite photographers. He has my dream job: a National Geographic photographer. His portraits are beautifully exquisite and express so much emotion. He once said, "If you wait, people will forget you have the camera and the soul will drift into view." This statement proves to be so true, especially in what I've found in my portraiture-taking experiences. Anyway, I believe his photographs speak for themselves - the soul naturally drifts up.

My Poem

I Carry Your Heart - E.E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

The Sandbox

I found Edward Albee's "The Sandbox" interesting to say the least. The play is constructed like a play with voiced stage directions which is odd considering, in my experience, theatrical performances lean toward acting as "real life" rather than fictitious acting. I didn't know exactly why the characters "Mommy" and "Daddy" were named the way they were especially since it is not evident that they have children themselves. And why are they taking this poor woman out to the sandbox to die and be taken away by the melodious notes played by the musician and the muscley actor/angel of death? What is the purpose for the musician? Is he solely there to whisk Grandma away to her death? Why do Mommy and Daddy sit and wait an entire day and night for -what seems to be Mommy's mother - to die? Perhaps this is the story that is told to the children of Mommy and Daddy - to better ease their thoughts of Grandma dying. Really, I'm just confused about this play. I think there is a lot buried under the surface of this play and, if dissected, would probably reveal a lot of hidden tones and meanings hinting at life and death.

Amy Lowell

Of all the poetry I skimmed through this week, I really enjoyed Amy Lowell's. She has an amazing way of weaving her words in a cohesive, yet coded manner, making her poems some of the most enjoyable that I've experienced. Many of her poems caught my eye - but I thought I'd just share a few of them here and then delve into the meaning - whether it be right or wrong - of how I interpreted them.

We already discussed "The Letter" in class, but it truly was one of them that stuck out for me.

THE LETTER

Little cramped words scrawling all over the paper

Like draggled fly's legs,

What can you tell of the flaring moon

Through the oak leaves?

Or of my uncertain window and the bare floor

Spattered with moonlight?

Your silly quirks and twists have nothing in them

Of blossoming hawthorns,

And this paper is dull, crisp, smooth, virgin of loveliness

Beneath my hand.

I am tired, Beloved, of chafing my heart against

The want of you;

Of squeezing it into little inkdrops,

And posting it.

And I scald alone, here, under the fire

Of the great moon.

Just like Heather, I initially thought that since Amy Lowell transcribed the poem, then she was the one feeling the way the lover in the poem feels. But it is very likely that Lowell is taking on a man's character and the poem would sound just as legitimate. I love how intimate the poem is. I know I've felt this way, and plenty of girls and guys feel the insecurity of having someone they love who isn't quite reciprocating the way that they would have hoped as well. Lowell writes, "I am tired, Beloved, of chafing my heart against the want of you; of squeezing it into little inkdrops, and posting it." In my depictions of the scene, I see her telling the man she loves that she's tired of writing him love notes when he either is not returning her love or she hasn't seen him in a long while. I think she's telling him that she misses him and wants to see him or she's become exhausted with their situation of no reciprocation. Either interpretation still rings true for me, I've been there - done that.

Another one of my favorite poems of Amy Lowell's is "Grotesque." This seems like such a deep poem that far expands the surface meaning of plucking a lily to wear in your hair. It encapsulates the essence of life, death, choices, fear, anguish, just emotions in general.

GROTESQUE

Why do the lilies goggle their tongues at me

When I pluck them;

And writhe and twist,

And strangle themselves against my fingers,

So that I can hardly weave the garland

For your hair?

Why do they shriek your name

And spit at me

When I would cluster them?

Must I kill them

To make them lie still,

And send you a wreath of lolling corpses

To turn putrid and soft

On your forehead

While you dance?

My thought about this poem is that it is either describing the inevitability of death or the obstinance of good. Lowell asks why the lily writhes and twists and strangles themselves against her fingers which may symbolize how people fight against the idea of death. They may abhor the idea and try and do anything in their power to avoid it. It is also interesting to note that the lily is a flower that symbolizes death. In the thought of the latter possibility of the obstinance of good, I thought that Lowell may be saying that we, as human beings, at times push away the good things in our lives. I also have experience in this - sometimes the clouds of misery follow overhead and there doesn't seem to be any alternative in making life better.

I also enjoyed Venus Transiens and just wanted to include Boticelli's depiction of the Venus.

Definitions

I decided to share some of my thoughts and connotations from the words that Professor Hepworth gave us last week.

What defines an American?
PATRIOTIC, die-hard, GLUTTONOUS, power-hungry, FREE, egotistical, CONSUMPTION, exempt from rules, DEMOCRATIC, leader, SEX-DRIVEN

What is wild?
UNCIVILIZED, boundary-less, FREE TO ROAM, free-spirited, UNBOUND BY RULES, choice

What is culture?
TRADITIONS, lifestyle, HUMANISM, society, ARTS, food, CIVILIZATION, perception, COHESION

What is nature?
HARMONIOUS, light, OUTDOORS, animals, TREES, air, ELEMENTAL, complex, SIMPLICITY

What is wilderness?
FOREST, inhabited with creatures that could potentially do harm but may not, NATURE WITH DANGEROUS ELEMENTS