Exercise:The Ethics of Aesthetics.

Exercise: The Ethics of Aesthetics.

Below is the entry I made on the blog post.

I looked at Stoddart’s, Rankin’s and, Chaskielberg’s pictures without reading the text first.  I wanted to see what the impact would be without the stories behind them.  

The Chaskielberg pictures, except for the colour, could have been taken on some long past Grand Tour.  The subjects are posed, the lighting is very controlled, and there is no obvious sign of distress.  The only hint of future trouble is the number of children.  

Rankin’s pictures are also posed, but are more pointedly carrying a message, although it is only in the repeated use of the handful of maize image that it comes through.   The differing camera angles give interest to what could have been a boring set of pictures.  There is, however, little in these images to intimate starvation or the need of immediate aid.  The people appear well dressed, the children looked nourished, and there is evidence of livestock.  Without reading the text there is no immediacy. 

Oxfam may not like pictures of fly blown children and stock shots of staving people scrambling for food aid, but the images by Stoddart have the power to move.   These are the pictures that the World should be made to look at.  To confront people to see what over population, poor governance, and diminishing resources will lead to.

Of the three main pictures in the article the one that conveys the true tragedy of famine is the one by Stoddart.  One doesn’t need to see the whole person.  These legs alone carry the message of hunger, displacement, despair, and hopelessness.

The link below to the El Pais image is now restricted and cannot be viewed.

http://elpais.com/elpaismedia/ultimahora/media/200403/11/espana/20040311elpepunac_1_P_PDF.pdf