W. Eugene Smith: Testifying to the Human Condition

Frightened and Sick
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f?q=nurse+midwife+w.+eugene+smith&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnurse%2Bmidwife%2Bw.%2Beugene%2Bsmith%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&imgurl=ae7eea075fca21c6

5:30 a.m.
http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images_118598_186074_weugene-smith.jpg

Winnowing Grain
http://imagecache.allposters.com/images/pic/LIFPOD/5922998~Grain-Flying-in-Air-During-Winnowing-by-Women-in-Famous-Spanish-Village-Posters.jpg

The Thread Maker
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/36/43736-004-23E812D0.jpg

Having Done His Best
http://toonz.ca/bose/wiki/images/thumb/c/ca/Smith_country_doctor_surgery_lgKenJacob.jpg/646px-Smith_country_doctor_surgery_lgKenJacob.jpg

After Midnight
http://www.geocities.com/minoltaphotographyw/smith_country_doctor_exhausted__602.jpg

Untitled Photograph
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Untitled Photograph
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Wounded, dying infant found by American soldier in Saipan Mountains. http://www.icp.org/atf/cf/%7BA0B4EE7B-5A90-46AB-AF37-7115A2D48F94%7D/wesmith_landing.jpg

American photographer, Paul Strand once said, “It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness.” One man stands out above all the rest for his ability to effectively bring out the “core of humanness” of his subjects in his photographs. His name was William Eugene Smith. In my research of the man, I looked at his life and his most famous works, and analyzed the emotion of his subjects to try and get a feel for their character. W. Eugene Smith succeeded at documenting the human condition through his brilliant and often shocking photographs. While he was starting his work, there was a standard of photography that most artists adhered to. Few dared to venture outside of the typical picture taking occupation, which consisted of posing subjects and snapping shots of smiling faces. Smith, however, chose to work differently. He refused to conform to the norm of candy-coated pictures and posed settings that his professors and colleagues tried to force upon him. What he saw through his lens was real life, and with the quick snap of the shutter, he captured it. When he took pictures, he did not falsely beautify his subjects, nor did he wait until he could snap a flattering shot. Their emotion is authentic, and their character is genuine. He took them untouched, regardless of their beauty, their brutality, their mystery, or their rawness. Smith also pioneered the art of taking photographs in series. He is regarded as the master of the photographic essay, and his brutal images of World War II, his peculiar portraits of the “country doctor”, and numerous other controversial photographs illustrate why. His work is unaltered, and he has influenced the photography of many photojournalists. W. Eugene Smith’s life’s work was to portray life sincerely one moment at a time, and he did it masterfully.
Smith became interested in photography at a young age, but he liked to work independent of critique and discipline. As a result, he was often at odds with his professors and early employers. He left Notre Dame University to go to New York and pursue a career with Life magazine. While in New York, he did freelance work for many different publications until World War II started, and he became a war correspondent for Life magazine.
World War II helped jump-start Smith’s career as a photojournalist. Until he was injured in 1945, he published hundreds of brutal and controversial war images for Life. He put himself in harm’s way, so that he could relay a factual representation of the war to his viewers. After the war, Smith continued to work as a photojournalist for Life.
Three of his most famous photographic essays are entitled Country Doctor, Spanish Village, and Nurse Midwife. Country Doctor follows Dr. Ernest Guy Ceriani, who is the only doctor in the little town of Kremmling, Colorado. In a series of photographs, Smith documents Dr. Ceriani’s every waking moment, on and off of work. The emotion on the face of Ceriani in many of the pictures is incredibly dramatic and telling. In Spanish Village, Smith documents the poverty of the small village of Deleitosa, Spain. It is far away from civilization, and villager’s way of life has advanced little since medieval times. In Nurse Midwife, Smith follows a woman named Maude Callen in Pineville, South Carolina, as she attends to the sick and pregnant mothers.
W. Eugene Smith’s work was unprecedented, and it set a high standard for photojournalists in the future. His photographs capture the essence of the human condition in all its glory and hardship, joy and suffering. The character and emotion of his subjects is deep and moving. It truly is documentation at its finest. Smith was fanatically dedicated to his mission as a photographer. “His passion for truth invariably places the integrity of the picture far above such matters as monetary gain or personal safety”. As a result of this dedication, Smith is a figure universally admired as an artist.

Prompts
1.Was there any part of my presentation that was unclear or should have been expended upon? What would you have liked to know more about?

2.In your opinion, by examining the photographs I provided, do you believe that W. Eugene Smith succeeded at honestly portraying truth in his work? Are his photographs accurate portrayals of “the human condition?”

3.Choose your favorite of the photographs shown. Tell why it is your favorite. What emotions do you feel from this photograph? What can you tell about the character of the subject?

4.Write a narrative about the subject(s) of one of Smith’s photographs.

Olympia's Look Response

In Susan Vreeland’s short story, Olympia’s Look, the main character is Suzanne Manet. The story is set shortly after the death of the great artist, Edouard Manet, who was Suzanne’s husband. In this story, I feel that there is a drastic shift in Suzanne’s personality and character from before Edouard died to after his death. Before his death, Suzanne seems reserved and quiet. She loved Edouard and was very devoted to him, so much so in fact, that she did not want to confront him about his many mistresses for fear of a large argument. She turned “a blind eye every time he burst into the apartment flushed and elated, passing it off as the joy he took in painting” (Vreeland 75). When she finds a romantic note addressed to Isabelle, one of Manet’s models, from Edouard, she tries to place it somewhere where Edouard would find it in hopes that maybe he would bring it up in conversation. She dares not approach him about it. “If he sees it, she thought, we’ll talk about it. If he doesn’t, we won’t” (Vreeland 77). I like this passage because it is simple and to the point. It fully demonstrates her passive nature. She doesn’t want to be the one to start anything, but would rather have her husband bring it up. When Edouard Manet dies, it seems as though she makes a conscious effort to change her personality. “She would be alone. She’d have to get over her anger, timidity, and grief, all at the same time. She’d have to speak her mind. She couldn’t retreat into her music” (Vreeland 77). Suzanne seems to be in control of her own life when her husband dies. No longer is she the quiet, timid housewife in the background. She is much more demanding and has a desire to have her voice heard. This new side of Suzanne is evident when she goes to see Victorine, Edouard Manet’s favorite mistress and model. She confronts Victorine about her relationship with Edouard. When Victorine says that she “collaborated with him,” Suzanne seems to scoff and replies, “A mere commercial venture. A deal. ‘You give me what I need and I give you what you need.’ Nothing freely offered. Nothing bountifully given from an overflowing well of feeling. Everything measured. Meted out” (Vreeland 86). I believe that Suzanne is a stronger woman after Manet dies. She speaks her mind and is no longer afraid of confrontation. Connecting with the next prompt, I believe that Suzanne has more of a free will when Edouard dies, whereas before she was only reacting to the forces and events in her life. However, she chose to react to them by staying in the background and not confronting her problems. I thought this story was well written. Honestly, I’m not too picky about what I read. I thought this had a pretty interesting storyline and I enjoyed it. From what we learned in class in the lecture on Manet, it seemed that there were a lot of factual elements in the story, especially dealing with the paintings.

Who is that person really?

Jones, Jonathon. "My Parents, David Hockney." The Guardian 19 Jan 2002 2 Feb 2009
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This article focused on David Hockney’s painting, My Parents. In this work, Hockney was trying to distance himself from his earlier work by preoccupying himself more with method rather than content. The subjects of this painting are not his parents, as the title suggests. Their names are Chardin and Piero della Francesca. However, in the portrait of this elderly couple, Hockney seems to bring out the personalities his actual parents. Hockney's parents were strong-minded individuals, which rubbed off on their son. His mother was religious and a vegetarian, which was unusual at the time. His father, who died a year after this painting was done, was an anti-war campaigner and noted Bradford character who fiercely opposed smoking. In this painting, one gets the feeling that the subjects are nostalgic for a simpler, sparser and perhaps more moral world. David Hockney left his parents to pursue art, but perhaps this work of his is an attempt to bring them close again.

Lucie-Smith, Edward. "David Hockney." Lives of the Great 20th-Century Artists 2 Feb 2009
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This article is a brief biography of David Hockney. He was born in Bradford, England in 1937. He began attending a local art school at the age of 16. Then, in 1959, he went to the Royal College of Art in London to continue his studies. His time in that college was full of discovery, both with his own homosexuality and with his style. He made his first major impact as a painter with the Young Contemporaries Exhibition of January 1961. Upon leaving school, Hockney was already quite successful. He moved to Los Angeles, and the lifestyle and landscapes there became important features of his work. Here he also found his lover and favorite model, Peter Schlesinger. He became interested in the full spectrum of art, and, not wanting to limit himself to painting, began to design sets for theater and experiment with Polaroid cameras. He continues to work with art and now lives in his house in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.

Children of the Screen

I think Hannah Baylon’s article, Children of the Screen, gives us a painfully honest look at our society and what we value in life as people. If we look thirty, twenty, or even ten years back in time, we can see a society that is not obsessed with the latest video game or giant television, but rather one that values more simple things in life—things that do not require us to sit inside and veg in front of a screen. We are completely surrounded and, in some ways, I think we are controlled by the media. For example, for many of us, the media dictates what we should wear, who we should look like, what we should own to be happy, and what things are most important in life. Like Hannah Baylon said, most of us have gotten into a habitual way of living. We go to work (or school) for most of the day, come home exhausted, and then all we want to do for the rest of the night is sit back, relax, and watch sports or some other program. I, myself, have tried not to fall into this cycle, and for the most part I have been successful, but it is very tempting to dive into a comfortable routine. I sometimes find myself dropping my backpack onto the floor, laying down on my bed and either turning on the T.V. or checking my facebook profile (or both) immediately when I come back from classes. However, I am not one of the people that does this every day, as Baylon’s article suggests. I find pleasure in playing outside, going to the Rec, and playing the piano to pass the time. I think that enjoying nature, hanging out with friends, and picking up a hobby are essential in preserving our “true nature” as humans. We were not meant to sit all day and watch television or play video games. Although I think that it is important to relax and veg every once in a while, it is more important to be spontaneous and use our bodies the way they were meant to be used—in motion. I am concerned about our future as humans. In my lifetime, I have seen small, tube T.V.s transform into huge flat-screens and amazingly realistic video games sprout from weird, pixilated digital creations. I can’t even imagine what the next fifty years will bring in terms of technology. I can’t even begin to imagine what our children and grandchildren will live like and how their lives will be affected by growing technology. My hope for them is that they will not grow up with their faces constantly thrust in front of a screen. Unfortunately, as time goes on, that looks more and more like a future reality. If I had to choose one upside to our screen age reality, even though there may be quite a few, I would say that we are kept well informed by the media and news. We are able to find information or breaking news in a split second via the internet and television. Still, overall, I think that the cons outweigh the pros as our society slowly slips into our screen age reality.

Dorian Gray

This is a film that tells the story of a young man named Dorian Gray. In the beginning, his friend Basil Hallward is painting a portrait of him. Dorian is a very handsome young man, and as he gazes at the beauty of his portrait, he makes a wish that somehow the picture would age instead of him so that he could keep his young features. However, as we soon find out, Dorian Gray, though a handsome young man on the outside, has a very ugly soul. As he hurts the ones he loves and constantly acts selfishly, his portrait reflects his ugly heart. He, as he once wished, remains young and handsome, but he begins to notice that his picture is getting more and more old and hideous looking. He tries to hide it from view and locks it away in an upstairs room. As time goes by, Dorian remains looking young as others around him grow older. His portrait, however, continues to reflect his wicked heart. He even kills Basil Hallward to keep him quiet about it. Meanwhile, rumors begin to circulate about Dorian’s wicked and ugly nature. Although he looks like a gentleman on the outside, people begin to notice that his looks are deceiving. Eventually, he becomes too concerned about people seeing his painting and grows to hate the look of it. In an attempt to destroy what he created with his foolish wish, he stabs his picture in the heart. When he does this, the portrait returns to its original beauty, but he himself is also killed. I think the “meaning” or theme of this film is that you can’t hide who you truly are. Even though Dorian Gray was a youthful and handsome looking man on the outside, his soul was dirty and rotten. Soon, people began to see beyond his handsome features into his cold heart. His portrait demonstrated this theme even better because it showed who he was as a person rather than what he looked like as a handsome human being.
For the scene, I chose the part when Dorian Gray murders Basil Hallward. This scene takes place toward the end of the movie. In this scene, Basil insists on seeing his masterpiece that he gave to Dorian. Dorian refuses, but eventually takes Basil up to the upstairs room where it is locked away. When Basil sees the portrait, he is horrified and calls it monstrous. He thought that Dorian had destroyed the painting, but in fact, it had destroyed Dorian. Basil decides to pray for his friend, Dorian, because he realizes the monster that Dorian has become on the inside. Dorian takes advantage of Basil’s downward cast eyes, sneaks up behind him, and stabs him in the back. This scene is very interesting to me because I think it illustrates how truly wicked and cold-hearted Dorian has become, and he is determined to keep his secret from everyone. My favorite part about the scene is after Dorian kills Basil, the lantern is swinging from the ceiling. For a few seconds, the camera focuses on Dorian’s face, as it emerges from darkness into light, then plunges into darkness again because the light from the lantern is moving. This further demonstrates to me how Dorian may look handsome, but his heart is cold and dark. If you look closely enough, you can see who people really are beneath their outward appearance.

Who is that Person?

For the “Who is that Person” assignment, I chose a portrait of an elderly couple sitting in a room on wooden chairs. I don’t know why I chose this one over the others; I guess I just liked the colors, and it looked like a pleasant setting. When I look at the portrait, the first thing that jumps out at me is the simplicity of the setting. I think this couple has gotten fed-up with the complicated things in life, and they just wanted to get back to basics. Their clothes are quite simple, but it doesn’t look like they are wanting in any way. They look relatively pleased with their lifestyle and are content to just sit in a room and enjoy each other’s company. The woman looks like a very quiet person. She is seated with her hands folded and a slight smile across her face. I think, just by looking at her, she was a stay at home mom. I guess I just get a gentle and loving vibe from her. She doesn’t look necessarily concerned or worried about life. Instead, I would say she is more curious and reflective. Now that her children are grown, she has time to just sit back, relax, and think about her past and the little things in life that she once took for granted, like the tulips to her left, for example. She once may have been full of energy and spunk, but now she is tired and enjoys passing the time in silence and reflection. The man with her (who I assume is her husband, but have no way of knowing) looks like he might be a retired businessman. He is wearing a matching set of pants and a jacket. His face looks very interested as he’s peering into a book. He, like his wife has gotten tired of the hustle and bustle of daily life and now takes pleasure in the little things. His face is not in a smile, nor is it in frown. Rather, it is a feature that suggests that he is wholly devoted to the moment. He could sit there, listen to the ticking of a clock, and look at a book all day, and he would be content. He prefers a good book to a television program any day and likes to ignore modern technology, almost as if he were living in the past. His hair is getting gray and balding in the back, but he doesn’t mind. He has accepted his old age and is embracing the consequences of his age. The couple doesn’t bicker and quarrel like a cliché old couple. Instead, they spend their days in their wooden chairs reading and listening to the sounds of their old house.

K-Slice Test

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