Shock and Awe
>New York, NY, October 2nd – Within major military conflict lays an abundance of stories to tell, and emotions to convey. No surprise is it then that so many photographers spend their lives covering war in the form of pictures. The subject of war photography is shrouded in controversy, eliciting brutality and privacy invasion. Photographers have reveled in this and a few have taken the challenge of taking war photographs and reigned in success. Two of the most influential war photographers have been featured at the International Center of Photography in the form of an exhibit of their best works: Robert Capa and Gerda Taro. Oh, and there was a little surprise at the end.
The show was an eclectic mix of pictures, ranging from the conventional to the gut wrenching. The top floor of the bi-level gallery is residence to the works of Taro, starting with the Spanish Civil War. Her interesting use of contrast in her photos accentuates the depth-of-field, and puts otherwise common war elements into a clearer, more expressive focus. Pieces like “Republican Militiawomen Training on the Beach, Outside Barcelona – August 1936” and “Three Republican Militiawomen, Probably Barcelona – August 1936” display her classic style perfectly, while “Air Raid Victims in the Morgue, Valencia – May 1937” gruesomely depicts the brutality of war while incorporating the qualities and perspective that have made Taro famous.
Downstairs, Robert Capa’s work is in focus. Seemingly, being married to Gerda Taro shows, as Capa’s photos of war landscapes mimic the work of his wife. Pictures like “Manieros Preparing for Attack, Rio Sergue, Aragon Front, Near Fraga, Spain – November 7, 1938” from the Spanish Civil War depict endless, intimidating landscapes of gray hue, enunciating the darkness of war’s nature. However, Capa’s most profound and controversial of pieces is “Death of a Loyalist Militiaman, Cerro Muriano, Córdoba front, Spain – September 5, 1936,” a moving photo of a most horrific death – staged or not. Just a glimpse of one of his photos reveals his use of limited contrast and his primary focus on motion. His works are brilliant, and bring the realities of war to life.
But, the highlight of this exhibit was nothing by Taro or Capa. In fact, they weren’t even action war photos. It was a small display in the corner of the gallery, entitled “Dark is the Room Where We Sleep – a project by Francesc Torres.” The magnitude of the emotional impact this small project had on me is incomparable. The focus was on a site where the execution of forty-six anti-Spanish-Republican prisoners of war took place. The way the mass graves were photographed by Torres is epic. The most moving of all was the photo of a skeleton hand, reproduced to span half the wall it was displayed on, that still bore a wedding band.
Throughout the exhibit, I just thought to myself, how can you walk away from this and not change the way you think of war? As a society, we have been desensitized to death and gore, immune to the magnitude this had on the public seventy years ago. Although the brilliance of the photography stands out, the emotional response that the photos pull from the hearts of the viewers is in a league of its own – unparalleled by that of any other form of photography. It is a shattering reminder of the reality of war.