3 Moving B/W Photos

A lot of the film work I did in highschool played with the ideas of children and corruptions, which is what led me to this photo by Mary Ellen Mark. I love all of her work but this particular image above all her others has always captivated me in a way I cannot really explain. Dwelling on it now, I think my love for this image stems from the fact that it looks so real. I have seen plenty of images with children and cigarettes - I have even taken some of my own - but the girl in the foreground here is almost scarily convincing. There is nothing in the girl's expression, to me, that would suggest this shot was "set up in" any way (I'm not sure if it actually was). One look at her hard, distant gaze and I'm immediately sold on her corrosive habit, not even really stopping to consider the horrifying context of it all. Regardless of what the actual circumstances were
behind this shot, I can only hope to achieve this sort of immediate realism in my own work.


This photograph from Serbian street photographer Boogie continues more of the children/corruption theme that led me to MEM. Boogie is known for his extremely explicit street images, often working with what could be considered the dangerous and fringe groups of modern society - everything from gangs like the Crips and Bloods to European Neo-Nazis. He heavily immerses himself into the culture of his subjects, carefully earning their trust, thus allowing him to get honest, unfiltered images. This particular image, taken of a gang member and his sister, is one of my favorites from his entire body of work. On a purely technical level, I think this is an amazing photograph. However, when you consider the photo's contents, knowing that it features an actual gang member, it paints the image in a disturbing new light. I love that Boogie included the gun in the shot and that you cannot see the male's face. If the girl had a more frightened expression you could easily mistake this for a kidnapping rather than a loving embrace. While the girl looks relatively at peace - considering this dangerous world is one she has known her whole life - I'm not entirely convinced by her either. I think somewhere behind those eyes is a quiet call for help.


This image, Candy Darling on her Deathbed by Peter Hujar is one of my favorite images from the "Warhol Era", a very favorite era of mine. It depicts the famous Superstar lying in the hospital bed that she would eventually die in. Sad as that context is, this image is a perfect metaphor for the crashing end of the excess that was the pop art era. What intrigues me about this photo, though, is the way she chose to pose for the camera. To me she looks almost bored, more akin to a monarch sprawled out on some expensive furniture than someone dying in dirty hospital sheets. There is little pain in her expression. From what I've read about this photo, Darling was very accepting, perhaps even ready for death, and I think Hujar captures the last moments of her life perfectly with this image.