Member Presentation — Ann Pearson
"The Life & Work of W. Eugene Smith 1918 - 1978"
(Monday, November 28, 2016)
.While most of us strive to produce at least one outstanding image from a photo expedition, we sometimes realize that, for certain subjects, a series of images is needed to explore a story more in-depth. This applies particularly when photographing documentary and journalistic subject matter.
No study of the history of photography is complete without reviewing the work of the renowned American photojournalist, William Eugene Smith. He was devoted to his projects and respected for his “uncompromising professional and ethical standards.” Smith developed the photo essay into a sophisticated visual form and many were published between 1939 and 1954 in the famous Life Magazine.
His most impressive studies include the clinic of Dr. Albert Schweitzer in French Equatorial Africa, the portrayal of a way of life in a spanish village, and the dedication of an American country doctor and a nurse midwife. Although he severed his relationship with Life Magazine over the manipulation of some of his images in the Schweitzer essay, Smith went on to produce one of his most challenging series—the devastating effects of mercury poisoning from industrial waste on the health of the residents of Minamata in Japan, 1975.
“Smith claimed that his vocation was to do nothing less than record, by word and photograph, the human condition. No one could really succeed at such a job, yet Smith almost did. During his relatively brief life, he created at least fifty images so powerful that they have changed the perception of our history.” —notes from Wikipedia.
It is not surprising to find many of Smith’s photographs in the Family of Man Exhibition and book of the same name (1955). The project comprised 503 photographs by 273 artists from 68 countries and was created by Edward Steichen for the New York Museum of Modern Art. Its “...manifesto for peace and the fundamental equality of mankind expressed through the humanist photography of the post-war era,” was well in keeping with Smith’s philosophy. —notes from Wikipedia.
No study of the history of photography is complete without reviewing the work of the renowned American photojournalist, William Eugene Smith. He was devoted to his projects and respected for his “uncompromising professional and ethical standards.” Smith developed the photo essay into a sophisticated visual form and many were published between 1939 and 1954 in the famous Life Magazine.
His most impressive studies include the clinic of Dr. Albert Schweitzer in French Equatorial Africa, the portrayal of a way of life in a spanish village, and the dedication of an American country doctor and a nurse midwife. Although he severed his relationship with Life Magazine over the manipulation of some of his images in the Schweitzer essay, Smith went on to produce one of his most challenging series—the devastating effects of mercury poisoning from industrial waste on the health of the residents of Minamata in Japan, 1975.
“Smith claimed that his vocation was to do nothing less than record, by word and photograph, the human condition. No one could really succeed at such a job, yet Smith almost did. During his relatively brief life, he created at least fifty images so powerful that they have changed the perception of our history.” —notes from Wikipedia.
It is not surprising to find many of Smith’s photographs in the Family of Man Exhibition and book of the same name (1955). The project comprised 503 photographs by 273 artists from 68 countries and was created by Edward Steichen for the New York Museum of Modern Art. Its “...manifesto for peace and the fundamental equality of mankind expressed through the humanist photography of the post-war era,” was well in keeping with Smith’s philosophy. —notes from Wikipedia.
