Miami University Art Museum exhibit: “A Lens For Freedom: Civil Rights Photographs by Steve Schapiro”

 Via Dayton Daily News

Augst 26, 2022

Steve Schapiro: "We Shall Overcome" Summer of '64 Freedom Bus, Oxford, Ohio, 1964

OXFORD — “A Lens For Freedom: Civil Rights Photographs by Steve Schapiro” will be one of the three featured exhibitions on display this fall at Miami University Art Museum and Sculpture Park. The exhibitions will be on view through early December.

“‘A Lens For Freedom’ consists of 17 photos and three photo murals that are based on photographs of contact sheets that all pertain to civil rights photographs by Steve Schapiro with particular focus on developments leading up to and involving Freedom Summer,” said Jason Shaiman, curator of exhibitions at Miami University Art Museum.

Schapiro was there in the 1960s with his camera to capture some of the most iconic moments of the civil rights movement. Schapiro was also one of the leading photographers to document the historic 1964 Freedom Summer Campaign. His photographs are on view in the McKie Gallery.

“At the Art Museum, we have been very involved in exhibitions and programs for a number of years that support civil rights and social justice, and we’ve done other exhibitions pertaining to Freedom Summer,” Shaiman said.

This foundation for this exhibition really came about in 2019, when we worked with Steve Schapiro and his now widow, because unfortunately, Steve passed away in January of this year, of providing a partial gift as well as a museum purchase of 20 photographs. So, that’s where the 17 photos are from. We took the three contact sheets, and we’ve blown them up as photo murals, he said.

“This was a wonderful collaboration with Steve, because, as you might know, the grounds where the Art Museum stands is part of what used to be the Western College for Women. Now, it’s considered the Western Campus for Miami University. In 1964, the Western College for Women hosted the two-week training for volunteers, who were going into the Deep South, particularly Mississippi, to support Black voter registration, and the setting up of Freedom Schools and Freedom Libraries,” Shaiman said.

Freedom Summer was hosted by Western College for Women.

“The photos that we have piece together how Steve Schapiro got involved in photographing the civil rights movement. Then, with a particular focus on Freedom Summer, some of the photos were taken in Oxford during the first week of training. Steve was only present for the first week of training,” he said.

The rest of the photos in the exhibition record what he was seeing and documenting in Mississippi, around the region of Neshoba County, which is where a lot of the trouble in Mississippi took place, Shaiman said.

“Steve had a diverse career. He really made a name for himself within civil rights photography. He took some of the most amazing photos of Dr. King, of people like John Lewis, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, and so many major figures in the civil rights movement, especially in the 1960′s. His involvement really started with James Baldwin, who was a very well noted writer, poet, speaker on the Black experience,” he said.

Baldwin introduced Schapiro to a lot of major civil rights figures, and that transformed his trajectory as a photojournalist, which continued through the 1960′s. In the 1970′s, he started working in Hollywood, and he was doing still photos on and off-set for a lot of major movies like “The Godfather,” “Taxi Driver,” and a number of big-name films and he became very well known and respected for that work, which kept him busy for several decades.

“Schapiro has said in interviews, that as wonderful as those opportunities were, he still felt like his civil rights photos were his most important contributions to photography,” Shaiman said.

He said Schapiro was able to capture the individual personalities of the people that he recorded in his photos.

“He had a unique approach,” Shaiman said, “There was nothing that felt staged about his photos.”

“He was really capturing who these people were, and what they were fighting for, and I think his approach moved beyond photojournalism, and it really captured a sense of humanity of the people that he was photographing,” said Shaiman.

The exhibition and related programming are supported with a grant from FotoFocus as part of the FotoFocus Biennial 2022. The Art Museum also received support from Richard and Susan Momeyer. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Schapiro, who passed away on Jan. 15.

How to go

What: “A Lens For Freedom: Civil Rights Photographs by Steve Schapiro”

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month. The exhibition will be on display through Dec. 10. Closed on Sundays, Mondays and university holidays.

Where: Miami University Art Museum and Sculpture Park, 801 S. Patterson Ave., Oxford

Admission: Free and open to the public. Visitor parking passes are available at the museum.

More info: (513) 529-2232 or www.MiamiOH.edu/ArtMuseum. It is optional for visitors to wear a mask.

Stephen Wilkes' pictures document effects of climate change

 Via Good Morning America

August 23, 2022

Stephen Wilkes has been photographing national parks for more than 20 years and his newly born granddaughter inspires him to continue bearing witness to how they're affected by climate change.

Mount Sinai Health System Unveils Photo Exhibit "We Find A Way" by Ashley Gilbertson

Via Mount Sinai Health System

August 22, 2022

We Find a Way is a photo installation that captures a glimpse inside the Mount Sinai Health System community in various moments of employees caring for patients through compassion, skill and often times going beyond in. Australian photojournalist and writer, Ashley Gilbertson, who typically covers war zones and social unrest, was able to capture powerful moments between a patient and health care worker.

This photo installation is part of Mount Sinai’s overarching branding and advertising campaign that launched in June 2021 and presents an emotional and raw view of what it takes to overcome challenging and complex health and scientific problems. The We Find a Way campaign and exhibit drew inspiration from the entire Mount Sinai community who went above and beyond to save countless lives during the pandemic, and how it seeks to do so for all health conditions. Their work has led to the development of new COVID-19 protocols, diagnostics, and therapeutics.

“This campaign reveals the soul of our organization, the resilience of our people, and our humanity,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Mount Sinai Health System. “I’m inspired by the people who make us who we are, who entered into this profession because they care and are unsatisfied with the status quo, and who embody the Mount Sinai way.”

Throughout the photos, Mr. Gilbertson was able to showcase the deep humanity in how Mount Sinai’s staff finds a way to go above and beyond for the care of patients. Within the exhibit, Mount Sinai doctors, nurses, researchers, and other staff are seen committing to every single patient, even through the worst of the crisis.

“This casts an authentic spotlight on what we do and who we are,” said David A. Feinberg, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System and Dean for Marketing and Communications for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “The distinctive experiences captured beautifully and thoughtfully reveal the essence of our community and Health System.”

Images include a physician’s assistant braiding a patient’s hair while the patient was under anesthesia and wouldn’t know, a patient in the operating room when their heart starts beating again, an occupational therapist helping a patient through rehab, quiet moments before surgery, researchers looking for solutions, a toddler patient returning home after a life-saving transplant, and more. The photo installation can be seen within The Mount Sinai Hospital at 1 Gustave L. Levy Place New York, NY 10029-6574.

Grant Baldwin's 2019 Pride Festival image featured: Officials in counties outside Charlotte censored LGBTQ+ content. Can they do that?

 Via The Charlotte Observer

August 18, 2022

The Gaston County manager ordered this photograph of two newlywed men kissing at the 2019 Charlotte Pride Parade & Festival pulled from a photography exhibit at the Gaston County Museum, according to a county statement and the photographer, Grant Baldwin/Grant Baldwin Photography

"Before the pandemic put a pause to the Queen City’s in-person festivities, Charlotte Pride hired local photojournalist Grant Baldwin to document its 2019 parade. Among the shots, Baldwin snapped a portrait of two men — Justin Colasacco and Bren Hipp — kissing in celebration just after getting engaged.

As a rainbow-festooned gaggle of cheers erupted behind them, Baldwin thought the shot would be perfect for the Gaston County Museum’s roundup of artistic and documentary photographs. Museum officials agreed initially. They accepted the photo and displayed it as part of the summer 2022 “Into the Darkroom” exhibit, Baldwin said. Ultimately, county manager Kim Eagle told museum staff to replace the photograph with one “more considerate of differing viewpoints in the community,” county spokesman Gaub said. It remains shelved, but the removal has sparked calls for more LGBTQ recognition in the county. It garnered praise for Baldwin and the couple elsewhere. The photo will take a place of honor in a New Mexico exhibit soon. “It’s reaffirmed in me that there’s still more work to be done to live up to the motto of Gastonia being an All-American city – live, work and play – when a subset of the population is not viewed as equals,” Charlotte Pride spokesman and Gastonia resident Clark Simon said. “So there’s more work to be done.”

Read more here

Grant Baldwin's photograph is featured in the exhibition "Imagine A World Without Photojournalism", on view through September 18, 2022.

EXHIBITION REVIEW: IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT PHOTOJOURNALISM AT MONROE GALLERY

 Via Musee Magazine

August 15, 2022

Written by Amanda Karmolinski

Copy Edited by Chloë Rain

Photo Edited by Yanting Chen

The Monroe Gallery of Photography in Sante Fe is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the opening of the major exhibition, “Imagine A World Without Photojournalism.” This exhibition highlights photojournalists spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, from World War II to the recent January Insurrection. These images are timeless; they showcase the constantly changing political climate- from when they were captured to today’s society. Their message speaks volumes. This display of photojournalism documents the way that events in our lifetime have an everlasting effect, leaving the viewer with the truth that “we are living history”.     (Click for full article)

Stephen Wilkes' Photograph on the Cover of National Geographic "America The Beautiful" Issue

 

Stephen Wilkes photograph of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah is the cover of  National Geographic's “America the Beautiful” issue. "This photograph of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah is one of four Day to Night’s I created for the September 2022 issue. The spectacular landscape of Bears Ears Monument is a symbol of the risk to some of the country's unique and irreplaceable places. One president preserved it at the urging of Native Americans who hold it sacred, another tried to open it to drilling and mining.

A national monument rich with archaeological sites, it includes the Citadel, once a fortified cliff dwelling, now a popular hiking spot. I took 2,092 photographs over 36 hours and selected 44 for this image. Beyond the sense of awe and beauty, there's a palpable sense of history with every step you take.

Bears Ears was one of the most challenging Day to Nights I have created. After a long day of traveling my team and I hiked out over an hour with several hundred pounds of gear to our shoot location and set up camp for the next three days. Over the duration of our shoot we photographed while battling steady 45 mph winds, and were blessed to be able to capture the sunrise, a full moon and a rare alignment of the planets, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn." --Stephen Wilkes

We need great photojournalism more than ever

 Via Amateur Photographer

August 14, 2022

OPINION: WE NEED GREAT PHOTOJOURNALISM MORE THAN EVER

Deputy Editor Geoff Harris reflects on the worrying trend of people simply shunning bad news – and what it could mean for photojournalism, documentary and news photography.

As somebody who believes passionately in the importance of hard-hitting documentary and news photography, I’m worried. A survey, recently shared by the BBC, reveals that a lot of people are turning off from the news as it makes them depressed.

According to the report, from the respected Reuters Institute, almost four in 10 of those surveyed say they often or sometimes avoid the news, a sizeable jump from 29% in 2017.

It also found the number of people avoiding news over the past five years has doubled in the UK (46%) and Brazil (54%).

Considering the devastation that the corrupt Bolsonaro regime is inflicting on the Amazon rainforests and indigenous tribes in Brazil, this is even more concerning, but I digress.

Photojournalism tells the truth about what is happening

When you think of some of the most influential news images in the history of photography – Dorothea Lange’s record of dirt-poor US migrants, or Nick Ut’s Napalm Girl photo – yes, they are upsetting and depressing.

This is not usually because photographers are trying to make viewers feel bad or have any kind of agenda (Ut certainly wasn’t against the anti-communist South Vietnamese forces who dropped the napalm), it’s because they want to tell the truth about what is happening around them. If more and more people are actively turning away from the news in order to ‘protect their mental health,’ where does that leave the next generation of photojournalists? Will they still be able to make a living?

Then there is the environment.

I’ve been lucky enough to interview a lot of great nature photographers over the years, including Frans Lanting and Joel Sartore, and most still believe that their photography can help protect endangered species or habitats through awareness-raising.

But what if an increasing number of potential viewers of these images just throw their hands up in the air and switch to cute puppy videos on YouTube or silly dance routines on TikTok?

Indeed, another recent report from OFCOM shows that TikTok is the fastest-growing news source for UK adults. Of course, not all content on TikTok is trivial, but it’s an illuminating and concerning trend.

Then there are the unhinged conspiracy theorists who accuse much mainstream news of being fake, following in the footsteps of cynical politicians like Donald Trump. Predictably, attacks on news journalists and photographers have risen exponentially.

We need great photojournalism more than ever

We need great photojournalism more than ever, as it’s one of the pillars of a free society, where politicians, big business and the military are held accountable. Shackling the press is one of the first things authoritarian regimes do – just ask any photojournalist struggling to tell the truth in China and Russia.

I also think that mental health charities and ‘experts’ should be doing more to dispel this insidious myth that the news is somehow damaging to people’s well-being. Certainly, today’s 24/7 news cycles mean it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but we can all control how much news we consume, and only consume it from reputable sources. Sticking our head in the sands is no answer.

A few years ago, photojournalists were fretting that the biggest threat facing them was the closure of a lot of print-based media and the increasing use of freelancers and ‘citizen journalists’ by digital outlets. These threats remain, and jobs continue to be lost, but a general turning away from bad news is an even more worrying trend.

As photographers, we should be doing what we can to support and speak up for photojournalists, and of course, getting out there with our cameras ourselves. Stories of death and destruction are not new, but however much they seem to be piling up in 2022, it’s important we all face up to what is going on the world. How else are we going to help to change it?

New documentary from CNN Films celebrating female photojournalists: No Ordinary Life

 Via RealScreen

August 9, 2022

CNN has scheduled a new documentary from CNN Films celebrating female photojournalists, No Ordinary Life, to premiere on the network on September 5.

Directed by journalist, documentary filmmaker and CNN alum Heather O’Neill, the feature doc tells the story of five courageous and trailblazing female photojournalists — Jane Evans, Maria Fleet, Margaret Moth, Mary Rogers and Cynde Strand — who documented major world events from Tiananmen Square to the Arab Spring, Sarajevo to South Africa and more. The film features all five women describing the risks they faced when reporting under fire — complemented by behind-the-scenes footage of situations in which they had to brave highly dangerous circumstances in order to get their story — as well as reflecting the challenges they faced working in a field that remains dominated by men.

The documentary had its world premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, and later screened at Hamptons Doc Fest.

No Ordinary Life was produced by Array Films, with Rich Brooks serving as producer. The acquisition deal was negotiated for CNN Worldwide by Stacey Wolf, senior vice president of business affairs, and Kelly MacLanahan, assistant general counsel, on behalf of CNN Films.

The Bigger Picture Tells the Story Beyond the Frame

Via PBS/THIRTEEN

Images can tell powerful stories. One iconic photograph can symbolize an entire era. But if we expand the frame and examine the moment in which it was taken, a very different story can emerge. In this series of documentary shorts, Harvard University historian Dr. Vincent Brown meets with curators, photographers and other experts to challenge common assumptions about iconic American images.

Richard Skipper Celebrates the world of Bill Eppridge with Adrienne Aurichio

Watch on YouTube

Monroe Gallery is pleased to welcome Adrienne Aurichio to Santa Fe on September 30 for a talk about the life and career of legendary photojournalist Bill Eppridge. The talk opens a new exhibition of Eppridge's photographs that features many new, rare early works.

September 30 - November 20, 2022