Nearly every photographer will be familiar with Jill Greenberg's famous series "End Times"(2006). These portraits are truly effective and capture a moment incredibly well. Having seen many toddlers throw a tantrum (working in a retail store with candy and toys at child height does this), I believe this series is very aptly named and really does capture the raw emotion children feel so strongly.
Apparently during the shoot the children were offered candy which was then taken away- producing such a reaction.
Interestingly her motive behind producing this work was to express her own incredible sense of frustration at the state of polotics at the time. She stated "I love the raw emotion of children, because it comes close to the anger and helplessness I feel about our current political and social situation." She used children as a vehicle to represent this in her exhibition due to their ability to feel and display emotion so strongly and passionately.
Whilst it's hard to single out any particular image in this series, I chose this particular image as I found it so engaging. Perhaps its the eye contact or the complete look of helplessness on the child's face- but personally I can't look away from her eyes. These images were designed to engage and draw a strong reaction from the viewer, and were actually very controversial when released. Many critics accused Greenberg of abusing and manipulation children just for a photograph. In my opinion I believe this is a slightly strange reaction- given that the children were not harmed in any way, rather just not given candy!
However this does remind me of our discussion in class regarding the exploitation of children- since Greenberg is using these images to push her own political beliefs and frustrations is she really exploiting these children for her own benefit? Probably. But will these children suffer because of it? (excluding being denied candy for a short period of time) I don't think so.
I adore the over the top stylisation of this image, the lighting is amazing and ads an extra layer of drama to the image, according to my research there would have been roughly 8 lights used in this image, creating such beautiful and controlled highlights. Greenberg also used quite a lot of post processing to complete the image, especially dodging and burning.
Often what makes a truly special portrait is the emotion shown by the subject. It gives the viewer something to connect with on another level. This is why this portrait series is so successful. The vulnerability and sadness shown in this child's eyes personally makes me want to pick her up and protect her from everything. It instantly turns on every ounce of maternal instinct I posses.
Referances:
http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/exhibit-review-jill-greenbergs-politically-charged/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/popup?id=2242810
I think most people become over sensitive when it comes to anything involving children hence your maternal protective instincts arise when seeing this photo.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the children are being exploited here as they must be getting paid for modeling (although the money is going to the parent.) It is like an acting job where they have to express emotions, only here the director - Greenberg is using a very good trick to draw out those emotions.
I know many people have said that Sally Mann is a child pornographer and she exploited her children in her photographs. Though I think if she was not a woman, she may have been arrested for those photos. Just like Greenberg being called of child abuse, had she been a man, maybe things would be different.
Sometimes being a female photographer I think they can get away with some things a bit easier than a male photographer. I think it's also quite interesting because I don't know of any male photographers that dare to approach these kinds of photography that Greenberg and Mann has done. Educate me please if anyone know of any male photographers that has photographed young children (non-documentary style) that may seem exploitative.
Georgia I love Greenberg's work and this body of work on the "crying children" series is very captivating. I agree when you say the children we offered candy and then it was taken away to get this reaction. This won't effect the children in anyway, however as they are children it brings to light a whole new set of ethics. These images have been constructed beautifully and there are many messages Greenberg is portraying.
ReplyDeleteBut does she have to be half naked or I hope she is half naked and not totally naked
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