‘who is in charge here, god damn!’…

this has to be my ALL TIME favorite Magnum quote ever…and should be the official BURN credo :)))

and, well, what i said before about Rene Burri…he is the best dressed (always) Magnum photographer of all time…screw being in Magnum, i just want to be able to wear a pink scarf and pink silk shirt and make it work! :)))))))

i’m not that interested in being in the Magnum Group pic, but i’d love to shoot it someday…but maybe, no one would be recognizable ;))))….

i thought the guy on chris’ chest was Chien-che….

who is he?

would a member ever resign over this issue?…anyway, none of my biz….just observing….

eva: take a look at vii and occuli and vu and panos and compare the male/female ratio….still dominated by men (which isn’t about work, but other realities of the profesional, like parenhood, societal pressures, etc), but at least the numbers are better…and see, it is the work that counts, one would hope this, always to be true…but it is not always true, really….with David, it is ALWAYS true, he cares only about the work and is an equal supporter of both men and women (look at his workshops, look at his staff, his assistances, his friends, his juries, his mentoring)..he treats all the same (except for Simone who gets top billing)…my point is about magnum..anyway, enough of my blather…

eva:

“whatever jury, whatever collective, whatever organization is choosing work based on gender, meaning that if they know it’s done by a woman it will be discarded vs. if ‘man-made’ it would have been taken?”

I’m not saying that. and I am not saying that Magnum discriminates, not at all. Let me try again. There ARE more men in the field of documentary photographers than women. At least that is my experience. There are a large number of reasons for this: societal, historical, familial, financial, etc. More men apply for magnum then women, yes. More men submit for publication/grants/awards, generally speaking, all true. However, another interesting phenomenon is that there seem to be MORE (much more) female photography students in art school/journalism schools/language schools (i’ve taught in all 3 places). There, clearly, are more men in a particular field (war photography, or travel photography) but even those are changing. Sure, visit any photofestival (arles, perp, look, houston, la, nyc) and the numbers (now) seem to be changing (not as dominated by men as once). Cure, some particular festival seem more male-oriented (arles seems much much more even in numbers of representation then, say other fests). The interesting phenomenon for me is why, in my experience, are there so many women studying phtoography (including documentary) and yet more male names seem to rise? I’m still trying to think about this and talk about this all the time with my wife, with female colleagues and friends. In the ‘art world’ (at least my experience with nyc, toronto and paris), the field is different: women have good representation, or rather ‘fairer’….

my sentiment about Magnum isn’t that they’re trying to exclude or that they are prejudicial or that they’re not making an effort to support and encourage female photographers (especially younger ones) they absolutely are. My case is a simple one. why do other documentary collectives have a better ratio of male to female membership. This IS a major loss because while true the work counts, they might find the presence of more women thinkers a richer and more rewarding collective. i am still surprised that this doesn’t make sense to you?….men and women produce equally superior work…and since that is THE TRUTH then if more men submit, for me, an organization has an obligation to make sure their balance IS changed…

100 men submit, 10 women submit, and i have 40 members (i don’t know how many) and 6 women….and there are say 3 outstanding men and 1 outstanding woman, i would take the woman..and do so every time until there is a reasonable balance so that this wasn’t an issue…..there does not have to be equality of numbers…but magnum membership does not reflect the greater world, let alone the great great work that is being done in the photogrpahic community….that’s all i’m saying…

but i don’t spend time worrying about magnum…this was just an observation from one friend (me) to another (david)…

nothing personal….

gotta skype the most important female photographer in my life…who is now In Ukraine working on her project with Mikhailov…! :)…incidentally, even that fellowship has better male/female representation ;)))

eva: no time left, must run again…well, i’ll just say this, based on long conversations with real women in the business, for many it is NOT about simply not wanting to accomplish…that’s a bit naive…and we’re not talking about success…anyway, this is silly, i’m sorry i brought it up…i don’t really care that much about magnum they can have all men…and magnum is not the definition, nor should it be, for people to aspire..it’s just a group of great photographers with a great history…and i’m talking more than just the societies we live in…i live/deal with this, with colleagues and with students (from other societies)…we have an obligation to understand, especially when we label ourselves as one thing, but are in truth another…anyway, whatever…gotta run….i regret bringing this up….cheers

i meant she left her husband and kids…while she re-establlishes herself..having to start life over again at 50….

life
hugs
b

paul:

i didn’t think you aimed ainy attack whatsoever at me….i was reacting to what david wrote and simultaneously trying to react to your question about my original statement that magnum (again, let us replace magnum with any other singular entity) should not be an aspiration, because that goes about the goal of work the entirely wrong way, etc…

eva: listen, i was running yesterday because i had 2 things i had to do right then: 1) talk to marina and then run to prepare for a memorial for a friend who had died…as for david, yes, of course he knows me better and yes we are close friends and yes i know he knows me/my life, but i did believe that my comment may have been seen as an example of what he finds frustrating about others who do that meanwhile harboring ulterior motives…i always explain (way way way too much, too often) what i mean, and i didn’t throw stones….i stand by what i said about magnum vis-a-vis women, so be it, that for me, right now, this moment in time as a progressive organization, they should look toward balancing their numbes, but i’m not that important, and it’s an irrelevancy, my comment initially was an attempt to be humourous after watching the vid…and by the way, friends disagree, friends argue and friends do in fact get upset with what each other write, not in any grand way (i am not in the least upset with david for goodness sake), but we also write what we react….as for taking things personally…its about language eva…and i’m tired of explaining again…this was all my fault and as my wife would remind me, i should have known better than to get so involved invested in something not terribly important…i take responsibility…please just don’t lecture me though

panos: ok, neext beer…gotta run, hugs
b

paul;

no worries, really. i wasn’t angry with anyone, not u and certainly not david…i was frustrated with the amount of time writing saturday (my fault) and debating my comment with eve (not with her personally at all, but frustration with having to explain what i said as not being any kind of an attack) and frustrated with what i’d written about magnum as a photographers focus (i see way too many young photogs and sometiems here too) as a bad thing (just as hero worship)…again, i should have just clarified by initial statement, or written it more clearly, but i suspect i’d be in the same boat, defending what i’d written…the better tact should have been not to write anything, as marina reminded me on skype….but well, that is my nature, to write and to write with passion and write alot…sadly, i can’t change this about my self though i try…as for loomings, i haven’t shown anything on loomings in a while after promising david not to, …all reason pictures at fbook are either part of a long standing project on russia, or new work (like the picture of the falls)…no one will see anything of it until david sees the whole thing…but, well..got some personal/family issues to resolve 1st before that day happens…but it shalll…

running to teach and shutting down computer, just so no one things i’m cutting off….already late…

tom!!!!!!!

yea, what Alec said!….

had i simply written something that, i would have avoided all that mass and undue stress for everyone….that’s the basic truth (for me too)…but, i’ll be satisfied by less than millions…i guess i’ll take a couple of hundred, …and now, for 7 weeks, totally alone :))))))))))))))

strange to read the comments about Cobain and fame and what he (might) have wanted/tried…..

in the end, for those from a distance, know nothing but what a person carried inside them and how they expressed that…sometimes through the way they barked out…sometimes only through their voice out, and even that is but a part….

i give a shit about what people think what kurt wanted…only he knew and we’ll never guess that, except that we have, sadly, not him (fortunately for him) but his music…

it must be enough, from afar to have what other give….the rest, is private …period…

as much as i try to give my own family all of me, some must comes out only in the howl….or the silence…

is it not enough to wear what others gave, without having to chew upon what you think they wanted….

and Leadbelly can only be heard on steel, scratching tin….

on the tin-stapled small rooms more darkened that light-splattered….

a chat with a father from somalia amid the pretty faces of Yorkville this evening ,over a cigarette, reminded….

last thing before going to bed and away….something that happened to me this evening after teaching that I shared with marina in Ukraine…

so tonight, after a long long day at schoolc and then taught ’til 8 i walked to the rocks in
Yorkville to sit and have a smoke, alone, away…so, i’m sitting there
and a crack addict comes up to me…after typical Yorkville people on
a friday night avoiding him and he asks me for a light….at first i
was a bit nervous….he was shaking and white froth/spit on his
lips…so, i gave him my lighter…he lit his small
cigarette…fingers/hands trembling…looking at me and my bag like he
wanted to steal it, to attack me…i could hardly understand him, but
he sat beside me…smelled from not bathing…shaking..his words like stones in his mouth, looked at me, as if a carving, then looked at me as if frightened…..and he asked ‘where
are you from’ (i asked him 3 times ‘what’ before i understood
him)…and i told him…then ‘what is you genes’….(again, after
asking him 5 or 6 times)…a pipe fell out of his pocket…for a moment i hesitated, then picked it up and gave it to him, then said, ‘i don’t know, a mix of irish/german/american, but i lived in asia as a kid…who knows…and i
told him about marina and dima (he asked if i was married, had
child)….then he told me he was from Somali…and that he wished his
son had a crazy background like…’but,all the say, know’….so i tried to
talk to him..people passing….we ‘talked’ for 20 minutes, people looking at us like
we were crzy….white boy dressed well talking to street guy, whose been avoided…
guy, 2….i had a cigarette with him, tried to talk and understand…asked him if he was hungry….more words i didn’t understand…he asked me to tell him about my mom…about my wife and son…another light….and in quick order: money, genes, job…where i was going….before i left, i gave him some money and my cigarettes (later felt guilty for that, not for giving away, but for giving out of pity)…walked for 30 minutes and then cried in a park…just thinking
of him…of the people looking at him…of how lucky i felt….of how
guilty i felt at first (thinking he would try to steal something or
hurt me, since he looked so crazy/aggressive)…and i thought, who
cares about him…who knows his life….and i thought, well he won’t
remember me, but i will remember him…i talked to him…shared 20
minutes and talk….and cigarette…..came home, read, worked on
pics….and just sat on the porch and smoked….

thinking where he was….then wrote marina to cheer her up….worked on pic, which seemed stupid in comparison…

who knows him…i didn’t ask him his name, fuck me…..

i wrote marina that the thing is that no matter what, most
people act like they are something…like they know better…like what they do is important, necessary, like what they do matters (this award, this thing, this do-ing, this belonging), like they
are something…and here was someone who was something, a man, a person without claim, a
father, now on the streets, far from his country…high and trembling in
the most rich and pretentious neighborhood in this Toronto…
….overlooked…

and i sat later, tonight, scoring…the luxury to sit, alone, safe, thinking of him….my father….my wife and son…and all the ridiculous grammar to which we yarn our lives….all so silly that we vault ourselves and accomplishments…

and later, after writing marina again, i wept…

a swansong to write here…

i’m not sure yet….

time shall tell…

WENDY/MIIKE :)

thanks…i am who i am ’cause i mom and dad and their hearts/souls :))

hugs
bob

JUSTIN :))))

yes, i love Mr. Wortley from afar…feel like i know him from your book and pictures :)))))…that’s all that matters, the life among our loved ones….and got your email, will write you tomorrow :)))

PAUL :)))

so happy to hear your electric life re-charged…our friends and companions do that…and david and anton can do that to folk :)))…(i’m sure eva/sarah/mr. G too…will share wine with them all too someday: with eva, it will be on her turf, when marina and i travel to italy early next year….

hugs
bob

PAUL:

i like Mark (tomalty) idea, alot :)))))….but the opposite for me interesting too…this must be quick as i’m skyping marina:

1) David: bold use of color, particular use of ‘dark’ colors and tonality, vibrant colors but alot of shadow in his colors (blacks, dark hues). But, more generally is a great use of ’emptiness’ in his frame…often solitary people (children and women). children: isolated in landscape or shadows with lots of ’empty’ space…but the mis-en-scene is really lyrical, almost as if a moment from a book….david’s frame is not ‘overly’ eye’d…not stylized or geometric per se, but with a lyrical sense of space within the fame…

2) Vink: Vink’s work is always painterly, even b/w. what i mean is that he really has composed frames, beautifully so. His work reminds of haiku in it’s simplicity and great great sense of position of the subjects/objects in the frame. He used foreground objects very much (fans/poles/hands/arms/faces) to differentiate the foreground/midground/background…i can’t imagine a Vink image (especially since he’s been in Cambodia) without this foregrounding image in the foreground: face/child…fan/tree/pole etc…great great sense of visual space, and his frame looks often like it was painted or carefully composed…his work is among the most ‘simple’ (never busy) but with a great, poetic sense of composition…like Bonnard, only with an asian sensibility…

3) Paolo:” deep deep darks, little middle range of tonality, except with highlighted faces…a swelling of blacks (or in color, of shadows) to highlight the subjects nature: very existentail and dream link, most often nightmarish…he’s of the d’agata/ackerman school (visually) but has a less abstracted nature for people/faces/places…in other words, he uses blacks/shadows the way Klein does or Giacomelli does, but he never (or rarely) looses sight of the truth of the subject: very subjective, interpretive, but still anchored by reality (where as, for example, D’agata’s work is much more about the existential question of using pictures to pursue an idea (my own idea too), paolo uses the abstraction of photographic property to hone in around the verite of the people and places he shoots…his frame is rarely ‘composed’, but his frame is more physical, an extension of his body and movement rather than the famed Bresson mis-en=scene for example…

4) Koudleka: early: lots of white space and extraordinary power of a moment that looks much more cinematic than real: his pictures seem like stills from a film, in both their composition (slants/horizontal working of frame) and their use of light…later when he went to wide-angle landscapes, they appear more like paintings, as he works the entire plane of the rectangular frame…his space in the frame is flattened and the center grounding is what works (no real realationship between fore/background: just this huge linearity of form in front: the scale of the land, daunting….whether that is from Greek filmmaker or e.europe or the desert: the land stands firm and large in the middle and runs powerfully from right to left…not much lyricism or that ‘decisive moment’ (as his earlier work) but the beauty/power of the images now come from the power of the shadlow/light and that austere powerful center line of the land in his frame….

ok, enough….

how do describe my own? ;))))

MOST, but not all, of the Magnum photographers (to me) have a very clear ‘voice’…this does NOT mean style…style is an illusion…just a technique that many share, a way of describing…the key, for me, of voice: how to use one’s one choice of style with the content to tell a story, whatever that story might be…..real or abstract….

cheers
bob

panos :)))))))))…what mw, lenny and above all, michael k said :)))))))))))….

aint nothing wrong with that pic :)))))….state of war, state of life :))))

and glad u looked at Marwnecol again…that guy returned from the grave…still wearing pink high heels, pretty remarkable, indeed! :))))

running
hugs
bob