State of the Art

Is This Any Way To Treat An Iconic Image?

I saw this week's Time magazine cover while getting coffee at our local newsstand, and I must tell you, I felt odd about it. As a visual device, the idea of using Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II image of the flag raising at Iwo Jima as the basis for a cover about global warming...well, it seemed just over-labored. I can't quite bring myself to equate the bitter fight for Mount Suribachi with the effort to control climate change. I think for me it's an aesthetic thing, however, not an emotional one.  According to this report, some war veterans also object to the cover, on very emotional grounds. (I don't agree with the guy who says Time's editors are going to hell for this. I just don't like the cover.) Who's right? Should iconic images be off limits to other uses? --David Schonauer

Dr. Larry Schaaf Opens Up About "The Leaf"

There's been lots of fallout since our first post on "The Leaf," above. The image was to have been auctioned last week at Sotheby's in New York, but was withdrawn because of the controversy caused by an essay in the Sotheby's catalog. The essay, by Dr. Larry Schaaf, speculated that the image was not made by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1839, as commonly thought, but by Thomas Wedgwood nearly 30 years earlier. Today the New York Times has an interesting interview with Schaaf, in which he very firmly says the image was not by Talbot:
    “Someone could obviously come along and say that these images are all in fact Talbots, but they would be wrong," says Schaaf.
    This is only the beginning. Lots more will come out as further research is done. The veil is lifting on the murky history of photography prior to 1839. Couldn't be happier about that.--David Schonauer

French Law Would Make Thin Less Fashionable

Lawmakers in France's lower house of parliament have passed a law making it illegal to incite "excessive thinness." The bill still faces a senate vote. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the new law would target websites that explicitly encourage anorexia and offer starvation tips. But the move clearly comes as a response to a controversy in the fashion industry, as the New York Times points out. Since the death of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston (above) from anorexia in 2006, the fashion industry--and fashion photographers--have been struggling with the conflicting demands of chic style and health. While the primary aim of the bill are the website, one French legislator told the times that the ultimate goal was "to focus on institutions that promote eating disorders." He was also quoted as saying "we cannot exclude fashion shows if there is a problem of health." As I've posted in the past,  I don't think governments should pass laws over creative issues. But is this a matter of creativity or health. I'm not sure the framers of the French law are sure.--David Schonauer

Where to Go and What to See

To be honest, I'm pretty happy this week is light on openings. Everyone must be worn out after AIPAD last week — I know just how they feel. It's been a long week ... and it's only Wednesday. Luckily there are still some great openings to choose from. My picks are Humankind at Hasted Hunt in New York City (notice that although this show opens this week, the reception will be in May; I'll post again when it's approaching). The VII answer to Edward Steichen's legendary 1955 The Family of Man show at the MoMA, this show will explore  the place of the "humanistic" viewpoint in modern life through the lenses of the agency's photographers. And at M+B in Los Angeles, consummate Muhammed Ali chronicler Howard Bigham's Rumble In the Jungle documents the boxer's historic 1974 trip to Zaire.

~Miki Johnson

(Photo: "Zaire, 1974," © Howard L. Bingham)

Photographer Released by U.S. Military

Bilal Hussein, the Associated Press reporter who was detained and held by the U.S. military in Iraq for two years, will be released, according to reports. The move by the military comes after Iraqi judges ruled last week that Hussein is covered by an amnesty law and should be released.
    The military detained Hussein in April 2006, on the grounds that he had bomb-making materials and had conspired with insurgents. An independent review of the matter by AP could not uncover evidence supported the military's assertion.--David Schonauer