W. Eugene Smith
American, b. 1918, d. 1978
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_9_VForm&ERID=24KL5347YF
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_9_VForm&ERID=24KL5347YF
I love this photo, it draws you up the path with these children and causes you to wonder what is just beyond the trees where the path opens up. The image is framed by the trees and the darkness of the woods, which creates a tunnel effect toward the center and makes you realize that these are really little children. They climb up the steep grade of the path holding hands and helping each other. This image reminds you of the childhood story of Hansel and Gretel, as they wondered the woods leaving bread crumbs to help them find their way back.
In William Eugene Smith's biography you will learn he was a war photography correspondent, so this image of his children is quite different from what he photographed for a living. I think it is that contrast that makes me love the photo more, it reminds us what soldiers are protecting. It reminds us of humanity. The rest of his photographs bring us to that conclusion. His images of war reminds us that photographs are not just about war but they are really about the people invovled. His images of soldiers in battle bring out the harsh conditions and stress they must go through to protect us. I love this quote form him.-"Photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes - just sometimes - one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness. Much depends upon the viewer; in some, photographs can summon enough emotion to be a catalyst to thought.”
Biography
In William Eugene Smith's biography you will learn he was a war photography correspondent, so this image of his children is quite different from what he photographed for a living. I think it is that contrast that makes me love the photo more, it reminds us what soldiers are protecting. It reminds us of humanity. The rest of his photographs bring us to that conclusion. His images of war reminds us that photographs are not just about war but they are really about the people invovled. His images of soldiers in battle bring out the harsh conditions and stress they must go through to protect us. I love this quote form him.-"Photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes - just sometimes - one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness. Much depends upon the viewer; in some, photographs can summon enough emotion to be a catalyst to thought.”
Biography
William Eugene Smith was born in 1918 in Wichita, Kansas. He took his first photographs at the age of 15 for two local newspapers. In 1936 Smith entered Notre Dame University in Wichita, where a special photographic scholarship was created for him. A year later he left the university and went to New York City, and after studying with Helene Sanders at the New York Institute of Photography, in 1937 he began working for News-Week (later Newsweek). He was fired for refusing to use medium-format cameras and joined the Black Star agency as a freelance.
Smith worked as a war correspondent for Flying magazine (1943-44), and a year later for Life. He followed the island-hopping American offensive against Japan, and suffered severe injuries while simulating battle conditions for Parade, which required him to undergo surgery for the next two years.
Once recuperated, Eugene Smith worked for Life again between 1947 and 1955, before resigning in order to join Magnum as an associate. In 1957 he became a full member of Magnum. Smith was fanatically dedicated to his mission as a photographer. Because of this dedication, he was often regarded by editors as 'troublesome'.
A year after moving to Tucson to teach at the University of Arizona, Smith died of a stroke. His archives are held by the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. Today, Smith's legacy lives on through the W. Eugene Smith Fund to promote 'humanistic photography', founded in 1980, which awards photographers for exceptional accomplishments in the field.
Smith worked as a war correspondent for Flying magazine (1943-44), and a year later for Life. He followed the island-hopping American offensive against Japan, and suffered severe injuries while simulating battle conditions for Parade, which required him to undergo surgery for the next two years.
Once recuperated, Eugene Smith worked for Life again between 1947 and 1955, before resigning in order to join Magnum as an associate. In 1957 he became a full member of Magnum. Smith was fanatically dedicated to his mission as a photographer. Because of this dedication, he was often regarded by editors as 'troublesome'.
A year after moving to Tucson to teach at the University of Arizona, Smith died of a stroke. His archives are held by the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. Today, Smith's legacy lives on through the W. Eugene Smith Fund to promote 'humanistic photography', founded in 1980, which awards photographers for exceptional accomplishments in the field.
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