JEFF WIDENER: Tiananmen Square Tank Man

Monroe Gallery of Photography is pleased to be representing photojournalist Jeff Widener.

 
Jeff Widener (born August 11, 1956 in Long Beach, California) is an American photographer, best known for his image of the "Tank Man" confronting a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 Beijing riots which made him a nominated finalist for the 1990 Pulitzer. Prior to the picture, Widener was injured during the night event of June 3rd, 1989 after a stray rock hit him in the head during a mob scene on the Chang-An Boulevard. His Nikon F3 titanium camera absorbed the blow, sparing his life. The "Tank Picture," repeatedly circulated around the globe, (except in China where it is banned) and is now widely held to be one of the most recognized photos ever taken. America On Line selected it as one of the top ten most famous images of all time.

Jeff grew up in Southern California where he attended Los Angeles Pierce College and Moorpark College majoring in photojournalism. In 1974 he received the Kodak Scholastic National Photography Scholarship beating out 8,000 students from across the United States. The prize included a study tour of East Africa.

 In 1978, Widener started as a newspaper photographer in California and later in Nevada and Indiana. At age 25, he accepted a position in Brussels, Belgium as a staff photographer with United Press International. His first foreign assignment was the Solidarity riots in Poland.

Through the years, he has covered assignments in over 100 countries involving civil unrest and wars to social issues. He was the first photojournalist to file digital images from the South Pole. In 1987, he was hired as Associated Press Picture Editor for Southeast Asia where he covered major stories in the region from the Gulf War to the Olympics. Other beats included East Timor, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Burma, Syria, Jordan, India, Laos, Vietnam, Pakistan and many more.

Widener is now based in Hamburg, Germany. The iconic Tiananmen Square photograph will be on exhibit in Booth B-500 during Photo LA, January 13 - 16, 2012.

More
Read: Eyewitness at Tiananmen Square, 1989
Interview with Jeff Widener, "Tank Man" Photographer

Great read by John Edwin Mason: Grey Villet, Interracial Love, and Drag Racing, 1965

Grey Villet: Richard and Mildred Loving watching drag races from the pit area, Sumerduck dragway, Sumerduck, Va., 1965



More about the story of Richard and Mildred Loving.

NEW MEXICO AT 100



New Mexico Centennial

On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th State in the U.S.

Continuing throughout 2012, communities statewide will commemorate one hundred years of New Mexico statehood: telling stories of the past, while envisioning the state’s next hundred years.

At 11:35 on Friday, January 6, 2012, New Mexicans are being encouraged to honk their car horns for 30 seconds to wish the state Happy Birthday. That's the approximate time President William Howard Taft signed New Mexico into statehood a century earlier.


The history of photography in New Mexico is as old as the history of photography itself. Itinerant daguerreotypists were active here as early as the 1840’s. Later, well-equipped photographic expeditions led by men like Alexander Gardner and Timothy O’Sullivan came through New Mexico making documentary surveys for the railroads and government, and helping to feed the appetites of Easterners, eager for pictorial information about the newly opened continent. Read the full article in the Collector's Guide.

More: New Mexico: Photographer's Eden

2012

As we say good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012, a few thanks are in order.

Thank you to all the extraordinary photographers we have been so fortunate to know, with special heartfelt gratitude to all photojournalists across the world.

Thank you to our friends, clients, and collectors for your support and encouragement.

Thank you to our blog readers, followers, and "social connections". May 2012 bring us all that we need.


"All of us live in history, whether we are aware of it or not, and die in drama. The sense of history and of drama comes to a man not because of who he is or what he does, but flickeringly, as he is caught up in events, as his personality reacts, as he sees for a moment his place in the great flowing river of time and humanity.

I cannot tell you where our history is leading us, or through what suffering, or into what era of war or peace. But wherever it is, I know men of good heart will be passing there."


 --Carl Mydans

The Case of Loving v. Bigotry

Hands of Mildred and Richard Loving on their kitchen table, King and Queen County, Va

Photograph by Grey Villet

Via The New York Times Sunday Magazine

January 1, 2012

In 1958, Richard and Mildred Loving were arrested in a nighttime raid in their bedroom by the sheriff of Caroline County, Va. Their crime: being married to each other. The Lovings — Mildred, who was of African-American and Native American descent, and Richard, a bricklayer with a blond buzz cut — were ordered by a judge to leave Virginia for 25 years. In January, the International Center of Photography is mounting a show of Grey Villet’s photographs of the couple in 1965. That exhibit is complemented by an HBO documentary, ‘‘The Loving Story,’’ directed by Nancy Buirski, which will be shown on HBO on Feb. 14. The film tells of the Lovings’ struggle to return home after living in exile in Washington, where Mildred, gentle in person but persistent on paper, wrote pleading letters to Robert F. Kennedy and the A.C.L.U. Two lawyers took their case to the Supreme Court, which struck down miscegenation laws in more than a dozen states. The Lovings’ belief in the simple rightness of their plea never wavered. Asked by one of his lawyers if he had a message for the Supreme Court, Richard said he did: ‘‘Tell the court I love my wife.’’

Julie Bosman

New York Times Slideshow here

The Loving Story Movie Website

Exhibit: International Center of Photography January 20 - May 6, 2012

Special screening in Los Angeles January 10, 2012 with HBO at the Museum of Tolerance.

Additionally, on January 17th, The Loving Story will screen at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC.

Grey Villet's photographs are available from Monroe Gallery of Photography. View selected photographs of the Lovings during photo la at Monroe Gallery of Photography, Booth B-500.

THE 21st ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LOS ANGELES PHOTOGRAPHIC ART EXPOSITION

Monroe Gallery of Photography is pleased to be exhibiting at the 2012 edition of photo l.a. We will be located in Booth B500, the first booth at the right entrance to the fair. Our booth will feature some of the finest examples of humanist and photojournalist imagery from the 20th and 21st Century. photo l.a. returns to the historic Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for its 21st edition on January 12 - 16, 2012. Continuing the discourse on photography’s place in the fine arts, photo l.a. provides dealers from around the globe a platform for the exhibition of vintage masterworks, contemporary photography, as well as video and multimedia installations. This exciting juxtaposition creates the character that is photo l.a. In addition to our compelling program of lectures, panels, book signings, and special installations, we are pleased to announce Salon de Tableaux, an area of tabletop presentations showcasing vintage, vernacular and unique photography. Also we proudly introduce photoBOOK - a forum with guest reviewers offering feedback to photographers on their book proposals. During the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, January 12-16, 2012, photo l.a. returns to the landmark Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the 13th time. As the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980 initiative continues into January, photo l.a. will include installations focusing on post-WWII art created in Southern California. January is also L.A. Arts Month, a collective marketing effort by the city and its arts organizations to attract enthusiasts and collectors to Los Angeles. Please join us in January for a memorable four days of art, education, and excitement. Check our website reguarly for updates, and join our mailing list for news on ordering tickets, special projects, and events. photo l.a. website with details here. Related: One of the world's most important annual photography events to be held at the Park Avenue Armory in March LocationSanta Monica Civic Auditorium 1855 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90401-3209 www.santamonicacivic.org Opening Night Gala Thursday, January 12, 2012 6pm - 9pm Benefiting the Los Angeles County Museum of Art‘s Wallis Annenberg Department of Photography Special host Moby General Admission Fair Hours Friday: January 13, 11am - 7pm Saturday: January 14, 11am - 7pm Sunday: January 15, 11am - 7pm Monday: January 16, 11am - 6pm Tickets Visit photola21.eventbrite.com/ to purchase tickets Contact General Information: info@photola.com www.photola.com Tel: 323.965.1000 Fax: 323.937.5523

CHRISTMAS, 2011

Verner Reed: Christmas Reflections, Boston, 1955

The Weather Outside Is Frightful....

But very beautiful. Please join us this evening 4 - 6 to celebrate our 10th Anniversary in Santa Fe and the Holidays.

The 'Girl In The Blue Bra'

Stringer/Reuters/Landov
Egyptian army soldiers arrest a female protester during clashes at Tahrir Square
in Cairo on Dec. 17.

"This image now has the potential to impact national policy, and that has been one of the major attributes of photojournalism — images that move the hearts and minds of the public and policy makers".

Via NPR The Picture Show: "The Girl in the Blue Bra"

FATHER FOR CHRISTMAS

Marisol rushes to her father as he surprises her during a Capshaw dance. 

 Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

Father for Christmas: Army veteran's surprise visit to Capshaw brings daughter to
tears

Read the full article in the Santa Fe New Mexican here.

Marisol Tapia, 12, a seventh-grader at Capshaw Middle School, is surprised Tuesday by a visit from her father, Lt. Col. Marcos Tapia of the U.S. Army Reserves, during a dance at the school. Marcos Tapia, who has been serving in the Middle East, was granted holiday leave until Jan. 3. - Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican