The Controversy of Change
The International Center of Photography displayed the works of “Gerda Taro and Robert Capa” in its War Photography exhibit. The war photography by both Taro and Capa added a new perspective to the reality of war which are often overlooked or ignored by people who are simply living at home and don’t fully realize the severity and tragedy linked to war.
Gerda Taro displays women in war add a new perspective to the idea of women in war. They are shown as medical assistance nursing wounded soldiers to better health but are rather seen as the military force in war. The “Republican Militiawoman training on the beach, outside Barcelona,” August 1936, displays a row of confident, fearless women all dressed in solid black clothes. The strong contrast that Taro put in the photograph adds to the authoritarian mood. The angle adds to the ascending power of women in war. It is important to note that there is no male figure in a series of photographs that in this category. Thus, the women seem to be independent and focused only on the aspects of war. Another image displays a woman leaning forwards as she holds a gun in her hand, alert and ready to fire at her target. The strong contrast of the dark clothes and the light background add to the confidence the woman processes while she firmly holds the gun in her hand. The angle captures more of a profile of the woman thus it may be trying to indicate the focus of the subject.
Taro was probably trying to show that the strength and determination of women in war as equivocal to that displayed of men, which is often overlooked by the efforts of male soldiers. In addition, to showing photographs of women participating in military battle, Taro also projects another part of society that is often ignored in war: the orphans.
In “War Orphans…, Madrid”, 1936-37, Taro displays a series of photographs showing orphans and the military environment. Since the orphans are mostly either by a soldier or in military fields, it is very clear that Taro makes a positive correlation between the extent of war and the number of orphans. In “War Orphan eating soup, Madrid,” Taro captures an orphan boy who is alone and eating soup. There are many dark shades; while the top section of the photograph holds lighter shades, the shades deepen to total darkness in the bottom. This shades and contrast add to the loneliness of the boy and help emphasize the huge impact war has on him.
The exhibit went on to display photographs of soldiers socializing, engaging in warfare and victims of war of as well. The overall mood of the photographs was gloomy. This was reinforced by the various shades of gray used in each frame. Nonetheless, the sad face of reality has to be seen not ignored and that is what Gerda Taro did.