Controverses

Today I visited the Bibliotheque Nationale de France to see an expo called Controverses which is being billed as "a legal and moral history of photography." The photos in this exhibit have been the subject of controversy--ethical, moral, and or legal, and some were not easy to look at. Several were at the center of litigation--like the one of a 13-year old nude Brooke Shields that her mother ok'd back in the day and that Brooke later decided she didn't want out there for all to see. Litigation followed, but Brooke lost. Another was of Angelina Jolie and a horse, and the horse seemed to be nuzzling at Angelina's bare breast...a little icky innuendo that apparently the Swiss decided was too much for them. There were a few others of naked children that were not pornographic to a non-perv, but if I were a parent, I wouldn't want the same pix taken of my child. And there was a Mapplethorpe self-portrait that I won't even begin to describe here. All I can say is eeewww. It got a couple of art curators sued, but they won. Art? That's debatable.

But the interesting photos were more historical, and the controversies surrounding them were more ethical in nature. For example, there were two pictures of Stalin--one with the head of his secret police and one without. Apparently, once the guy fell out of favor, he was retouched right out of the photo. There's another that was retouched to make the Soviets look good (the original showed that they had been looting), but no one who reads this blog will be surpised by a little manipulation of the facts, or photos in this case, by the leaders of the Soviet Union. There was the one of Hitler--dead in the bunker. And the one of a journalist taking a bath in Hitler's bathtub shortly thereafter. She had been to Dachau that day, and although she was criticized for the bath, she said she had to get the smell of the concentration camp off of her skin. I can't even imagine. Speaking of Dachau, there were horrible photos of emaciated bodies at Bergen-Belsen...piled high and far. There was a propoganda photo of concentration camp inmates supposedly working peacefully and happily. The concentration camp ones were, as always, difficult to look at, and the controversies around some were related to the timing of their publication--too early and other lives might be at stake. Tell the story so all can know the truth, or wait for a better time? Thought provoking. And heartbreaking.


There was one that I had never seen. Have you? It's of a human hand lying on the ground...at ground zero on 9/11. Severed from its body. You can see the arm bone. It is horrific, and apparently the NY Daily News published it, much to the horror of all who saw it. I never heard about the controversy surrounding the publication of this picture and didn't even know of its existence, but it was shocking to see and, to be honest, sickening. Sad and so real. It was the only 9/11 photo in the expo.

There was the last picture taken of Princess Diana on the night she died--not the one of her dying, so I should say the next to last picture, I suppose. You can only see the top of her head, but you can see the faces of her driver and bodyguard--the photo is taken as if the photographer is sitting on the hood of the car looking straight in. I was relieved not to see the other one, but this one was controversial because of the fact that her death was blamed on the paparazzi hounding them that night--doing things like perching on the hood of the car to get a photo.


There were so many others--about 80 photos I think, and I'd love to tell you about all of them, but sadly, I don't remember all of them. There was the one that we've probably all seen of the US soldier who was dragged through the streets of Mogadishu after his black hawk helicopter was shot down. The one of the little Vietnamese girl running naked through the street after being napalmed. Heartbreaking. There were horrific pictures from the Spanish Civil War, from Somalia, and from other far away places where people suffer.


While many showed terrible things, all of the photos weren't sad. There was the one of Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon. Very cool. There was the famous Doisneau photo of the French couple kissing in front of the Hotel de Ville after WWII. Beautiful to see. Always makes me smile.

Picture taking wasn't allowed (is that irony or something else?), and words really don't do this show justice. Below is a link, in French, and a few of the photos are included. Warning--the hand is one of the photos here. Maybe seeing a photo of the photo on a computer won't bother you, but just know that it is there. Finally, I don't know if this show will make it to the US, but if it does, please go see it. Or...come see me before the end of May, and we'll go see it together.


http://lunettesrouges.blog.lemonde.fr/2009/03/16/controverses/