one of the most rewarding things for me to come out of the Magnum meeting now going on in London is the inclusion of Spanish photographer Cristina Garcia Rodero as the newest full member of our agency….out of the approximately fifty members of our agency , only eight of them are women…..this is a painful reality…..no matter where i travel and am faced with an audience of photographers, the question is always asked of me “why are there not more women in Magnum?”…..indeed….perhaps more importantly, the question should be, why aren’t there more women in our craft in general???
i am now sitting in the back of a room in London where the male dominant crowd is palpable….i can see Cristina now sitting smiling at the other end of a long table….but between Cristina and where i now sit is Larry Towell, Martin Parr, Bruno Barbey, Costa Manos, Peter Marlow, and Richard Kalvar….over to the left i see Lise Sarfati sitting next to Alex Webb, Eli Reed, Joseph Koudelka, Elliott Erwitt and Steve McCurry….right next to me is Alessandra Sanguinetti who is standing next to Jim Goldberg , Trent Parke, Mikail Subotsky , Alec Soth and Jonas Bendikson….you get the picture….
Magnum members took an initiative about 10 years ago to help change this equation….the Inge Morath grant was initiated by Larry Towell, and all Magnum members contribute from their own pockets to give out the annual $5,000 grant to an emerging woman photographer….this year we gave the award to Emily Schiffer to continue her work with Native Americans, ” Cheyenne River”….we collectively juried this award two days ago from four finalists….congratulations Emily….
we also have a first runner up….this year it was Jenn Ackerman, whose work most of you know here as an EPF finalist with her work “Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons”….there is no money in our Inge Morath account to give anything more than the one $5,000. grant…..since the vote was so close, and since i feel that Jenn could use some funding to continue her work, i have decided to move some funding from the EPF account in the direction of Jenn…..
BURN will now give $2,000. to the first runner up of the Inge Morath award….Jenn Ackerman
to be clear…this is BURN funding, not Magnum funding….i am assuming Jenn will use the money wisely on her important effort….in my opinion, both Emily and Jenn deserve this support….i do not know Emily and only met once Jenn briefly, so i am making this contribution simply based on the work in front of me….all of you are part of this , since unlike the Inge Morath grant, the financing for the EPF part of this equation comes from you…yes, it is generous donors here on BURN who provide the funding for EPF….i have never asked for any of this funding, so this comes to us out of the sheer generousity of the readers here….many many thanks….
none of this will change the balance of women to men in our business….but, as most of you know, i am a “brick in the wall” philosopher….in the workshops i teach it is almost always a woman whose work rises to the top of the class…usually out on the edge, sensitive and non-linear work….why we do not see these women with cameras later on in the craft is something i cannot explain…..maybe some of you can….
in any case, keep an eye out in the future for both Emily and Jenn….i do hope they will be around for the long haul….Cristina needs company….
-dah
TO ALL,
“From the viewpoint of absolute truth, what we feel and experience in our ordinary daily life is all delusion. Of all the various delusions, the sense of discrimination between oneself and others is the worst form, as it creates nothing but unpleasant”
Dalai Lama
“Human potential is the same for all. Your feeling, “I am of no value”, is wrong. Absolutely wrong. You are deceiving yourself. We all have the power of thought – so what are you lacking? If you have willpower, then you can change anything. It is usually said that you are your own master.”
Dalai Lama
I might be an Alien( Lisa, that’s for YOU :))…Ufo (where are you KATIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…BUT …I will never stop fighting for what I believe!!!
and I believe in ALL OF YOU …
YOU hold a power…don’t underestimate that…
now it’s time to have that glass of Ouzo!!! LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE
David … a heartfelt pitch for more women to receive recognition. Brilliant. A few weeks ago you put the lack of diversity in the industry down to ‘taste’. I think that you were just back from the LOOK3 festival. I’d wonder if you might consider John Edwin Mason’s thoughts on this matter (link at the bottom). He would swap your word ‘taste’ for another word,’tribalism’. I think that he has more than a point?
Do you remember rocking up at a beach in Cuba to photograph child survivors of Chernobyl? You kindly gave a lift back to a young British photographer who had made the same journey off his own back? Just you, him and your crew. Now he’s the photography half of duckrabbit. Amazing how small this tribe is!
To everyone else … I first discovered this site a few months ago. I’d never heard of DAH, (I’m a radio documentaries producer not a photographer) but I was blown away with his generosity of his spirit. At the same time I was disappointed by the the few who seem to be only on the take here. As an outsider, it looked to me that David was in danger of curating a pantomime. I wrote as much. That’s just me being honest as to what it looks like as an outsider. Many of the comments turn it into bitchfest. Just with less depth. There’s so much noise and so little respect.
Again as an outsider, I see photographs, but rarely connect with the people in them. That makes me think that this site is only really for photographers. That’s great, but I do believe that photography can be so much more.
Is there a danger that Burn becomes a whirlpool?
The work to me often speaks of a lack of confidence, just to be a good listener.
All my working life, traveling and collecting stories with a microphone, has always been about respect, about the need for all of us to listen and about how precious and powerful a single voice raised in the act of a storytelling can be.
Where are the Joseph Rodriguez’s of this years generation?
no group of individuals encounters more situations outside of their own world than do photographers and
http://johnedwinmason.typepad.com/john_edwin_mason_photogra/2009/06/look-3-the-festival-of-the-photograph-afterthoughts-part-3-nicks-tribe.html
A correction (apologies) … there is no real lack of diversity in photography … just in certain circles, with a certain power and so called authority.
I was really grateful for DAH’s involvement in the Inge Morath Award this year, as I am every year for Magnum’s ongoing support and enthusiasm. I’d like to expand on one aspect of David’s history of the Award, and to answer Crystal’s question about the age limit.
The IM Award was created by Magnum as David describes, but in addition to honoring Inge Morath’s legacy one of the unspoken objectives was to bring more work by women photographers to the organization. This objective began to be fulfilled when the IM Foundation took over organizing and spreading word about the Award (basically institutionalizing it), and was realized in earnest in 2008, when Olivia Arthur, who won the Award in ’07, applied for and became a Magnum nominee. I don’t mean to imply that every Award winner will ultimately be (or should even wish to be) made a Magnum member. Rather, the Award was a response to a problem both within Magnum and in the larger field of photojournalism. And, in a small way (ie, to the extent that such a small grant is capable), I think that it has had some positive impact on the field, within Magnum, and for the individual photographers who have been winners and finalists.
The age limit for the Award was decided by the photographers when the Award was created. There have been several discussions about changing it (never about eliminating it), but that seems unlikely at this point. The fundamental argument against change is: don’t fix what’s not broken. The level of submissions is consistently high in both numbers and quality. David did bring the subject up at the AGM last week, probably not realizing that I had extensively but unsuccessfully argued the case for change of the age limit after last year’s meeting. On the other hand, changes that I’ve requested in order to reach a more diverse audience have been approved by Magnum and are in progress. I hope that the Award will continue to grow and to be of importance in spite of this limitation.
Thanks.
John Jacob
Inge Morath Foundation
duckrabbit -
very intelligent observations… they make me think stuff over yet again.
a
There are not enough/too many….men, women, old people, young people, black people, hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, gays, catholics, muslims, etc. etc. on and on. Oh dear, I thought we were past this kind of ridiculous discussion.
There are hordes of successful women in the portrait business. If there are more women than men should we get alarmed and institute special programs to recruit more men?
As Audrey and others have pointed out, gender roles do exist. I’m not disputing that gender and other types of discrimination still exist. However does anyone have any serious evidence other than statistics that it exists in the photographic world, Magnum specifically?
Perhaps its the whole idea of having to fight with the likes of you guys that puts people off Jim, Joe, Rafal, Herve.
————————–
Lisa, obviously, you are using some personal grudge you have against me in this debate, where I have absolutely no part, did not even write anything here before you said that, but I have to be the butt of your vilification. I will repeat again what I have said before. Do not judge people you don’t know and have never met. And good luck on finding amything I said here or on RTrip that was mysogynistic…
Also, for someone who likes to quote the Buddha, you don’t seem to let go too easily of pented anger and unforgiveness.
ACAMA :-)))))
Actually, I would say that even the Dalai Lama thinks it’s some times OK to be unpleasant. Like, he does not really please the chinese! :-)
Buddhism, as it became a creed, was not a very woman inclusive practice, and so, was definitely discriminanting against women on that matter of who can take on the life of a devotee. Buddha apparently had to be convinced time and time over again to let women in, and as it happened, they were not given full monkhood status, equal to the men in the Sangha. To this day, many countries will not ordain women as B monks (Thailand is one).
For his defense, he had doubts that he should go public and teach about what he had found. This guy was about to discriminate against all genders. Not that he did not have a point that we wouldn’t quite get it…. Even Francis of Assisi did a better job with birds! :-)
Herve, in Thailand where I’ve lived for the past 16 years, they become nuns….
And nuns in Thailand aren’t B monks as you say, they’re nuns
I wonder how the statistics line up in the non-professional (which I am) world. If there are more men who are serious photographers across the board? I also wonder if I was given a set of images of look at, would I likely be able to tell if they were taken by a man or a woman.
For myself, I find both positives and negatives to be a woman attempting to do documentary work. Being a woman in her sixties, I am not perceived as a “threat” in most instances. However, I find it challenging sometimes to give myself “permission” to pursue this when I am not making money and have family responsibilities–especially an aging parent at the moment. We each have our own definition of success and have ourselves as well as those on the outside to answer to. If generalizations can be made, I believe women are often intuitive–can often see the reality, the human aspects of their subjects–and often have compassion and a connection with them. In telling the story, in generating understanding in others, this can be very valuable. Growing up in the South in the 50′s, almost every field was male dominated except teaching, nursing, and secretarial work. It is interesting that there were more women than men applying to US medical schools 2009 and that there are so many men in nursing now. I am pleased for Cristina and believe that the doors will continue to open. It is important that they open so that talented and motivated women are given the oppurtunites they deserve. It is good to see men wanting this to happen.
thank god hillary clinton is NOT the president of the united states of america….
It looks that we might all need a glass of wine after all…
right Hereveeee !!!
As Erica once asked …”WHAT DID YOU SHOOT TODAY ?”
BURNIANS… Focus…damnit:))))
Congrats Jenn!
I’ve been following the discussion here and as it just happens, this morning I was talking to a friend and female collegue of mine about our bussiness and we both felt that as a female photographer we are often not taken seriously.
Maby it is because they think we couldn’t be up to something exciting, or that we might only do soft stories, or whatever other prejudices there are out there. Or maby it’s got nothing to do with gender at all. I’ll never really know, and don’t even want to waist to much time and energy over it.
I love being a (female) photographer and I won’t let anybody get me down or make me feel bad about what I’m doing.
If people don’t like my work or don’t even bother taking the time out to have a look at it, it’s their loss. And it motivates me to even work harder as well.
Most of my heroes in photography are women. Not because of gender, but because of their work.
Alexandra Boulat, Jodi Bieber, Susan Meiselas, Eve Arnold to name but a few.
Like Erica said, I hope the work will speak for itself.
And no matter what happens, what people might say, I just try to keep on telling stories that I feel that need to be told.
I’m not at all concerned that some of the contests and agencies like Magnum recognize fewer women than might be desired specifically because these avenues are not the only means to present the work of women photographers. In other words, if a photographer doesn’t win the big contest or is not represented by Magnum, she can still have a perfectly viable career and her work is still available to me.
I follow the work of many women photographers, some of whom are part of this very website. I have no trouble finding the excellent work of women photographers; the fact that they are not members of Magnum or winners of the World Press award makes no difference. Their work finds me without my having to make too much of an effort, and this is a good thing.
Anyone, including us here on BURN, who is serious about photography has or will have a career that in no way resembles that of our forebears. The world has changed, the media has changed, the photography industry has changed, and photography has changed. Seeking out the validation of the legacy institutions is fine, but there is just not enough validation to go around and too few organizations from which to seek it. Personally, I would rather have 100,000 blog readers and an active, participatory audience than an award from the photo industry.
Yes, I am male, and this is a thread about women photographers — I’m just arguing that women, no less than men, have more avenues and opportunities to advance their work than at any time in history. And if you need validation, you are in for a rough ride.
Dear David, I was one of your ‘followers’ MPW, Havana October 1999. I have not left Cuba yet! I am not aware that I am a WOMAN artist as such. I feel like one of ‘the guys’. Thanks for Burn. Susan Bank
Civi..
i changed things up today..i gave myself a day to look at my project differently/released myself from the day’s obligations and routines, I don’t even know what I shot but my mind kept opening, different light, different time of day..really strange after 9 months of shooting this as daily as I am able (pretty much on 2 avenues, each 29 blocks long) to see things anew..summer rocks :) I finally realized I did the smartest thing ever by beginning the street portion of the project in october..oct – april are some pretty challenging months to find city stories out on the street, now i feel like it’s Christmas every day..thanks for asking!
Susan Bank.
Nice to see you here. Met you at Review Santa Fe a few years ago. Glad you are still working in Cuba.
Love your project.
civi
I spent the weekend on Lasqueti Island, visiting friends and going to the annual arts fest. Music, art, food, good friends, an idylic setting. Love my life.
http://www.pbase.com/glafleur/lasqueti_arts_fest_weekend&page=all
Well damn Gordon… I think I love your life, too!
Much beauty you have there.
Cheers.
Luzz, relax..
nobody said that Hillary is the president…
All we said is that michael jackson is dead..
big difference…
:)
afternoon from LA y’all…
Kalispera!
VIVA MR.MICHAEL KIRCHER ,
I love your website!
ΚΑΛΗΣΠΕΡΑ ***
P.S kalispera means good afternoon !!!
Now mousakas on me!
I LOVE YOU ALL…
as soon as the Universe will give me a BIG amount of money I will BE a
SPONSOR …:)
WHAT NOT TO LOVE !!!
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL…please ENJOY.
Civilian… Many thanks! How bout some ouzo?
Hey Micheal
Love the stuff on your site, diggin’ the music on the Patomac feature. (The photos too)
Here is a photo of Nina Rajinsky in 1975 http://www.pbase.com/glafleur/image/111358922
Nina was asked to contribute photos for a book published in that year by the National Film Board of Canada entitled ” The Female Eye” ( I have the book } She refused. She felt it was a joke and insulting to women. She wanted me and some other male photographers to submit photos with fake womans names. We never did submit photos but I agreed that it was ridiculous and insulting to women and to our intelligence.
Yes, there is “female perspective”, but work needs to be judged on it’s merit, not the gender, colour, or nationality of it’s maker.
More Nina Raginsky
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/artist_work_e.jsp?iartistid=4527
Herve, in Thailand where I’ve lived for the past 16 years, they become nuns….
And nuns in Thailand aren’t B monks as you say, they’re nuns
——————————————————
16 years? Maybe time to check out your facts…
You can make a false debate just on how they are called, it won’t change the fact that nuns (or bikkunis, which is a mere distinction, not a status) in Thailand have no status within the Sangha that equals that of a monk. The line of ordination to become a bona fide bikkuni has been broken a long time ago, and this is the argument that the Sangha (the Sangha, originally the community of monks started by the Buddha, now being the religious authorities where monks belong, and which decides on Buddhist practices in Thailand) is using to defend its opinion that women cannot be ordained. The order of Bikkunis was always to be a special order, since the Buddhist Times, and it would be from that order that ordination would come.
Oli, if women can become nuns, then tell me why it’s only boys who are becoming novices for a lent retreat, a season or longer, one of the most long standing tradition to honor your parents.
Thsi is what I think you confuse (though, 16 years, seems like you’d know): Women in Thailand have become ever more numerous in funding temples and communities, and eager to practice just as monks, especially meditation. They don white robes to that effect, and it is not a rare occasion to see them around the land(Wat Songmetta is one such temple I am very familiar with in Chonburi Province) But just like in the Catholic religion, they are not accepted as priests/monks. They role is no more than that of practicing lay people, of which, many do indeed go in meditation retreats.
Wonderful, Gordon, we see your good heart thru these photos! (you are flirting a bit with over-exposure in some).
Back to Buddhism, I am not even sure that women can fund a temple of their own, if so, it must be under the authority of monks (like in Wat Songmetta).
On thai buddhism and women, if you Oli, or anyone else is interested:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6594/is_200501/ai_n25984667/?tag=content;col1
Yeah – good point herve – “it won’t change the fact that nuns (or bikkunis, which is a mere distinction, not a status) in Thailand have no status within the Sangha that equals that of a monk” – true, true, in a nut shell yes. But just to quickly say, there are more Buddhist nunneries now than there ever were, furthermore, the ‘status’ (and how they’re perceived) of renunciates and ‘mae-chii’ is also changing…shifting into newer territories – some are now highly respected/venerated for their ‘wisdom’ or meditation abilities, by both monks and most importantly society at large. There’s also a growing movement of women advocating institutional rights for the Mae-chii within the sangha. But like everything, this’ll take time before ( )…if ever – maybe.
You’re right, it’s all small scale. But it’s something. And the Sangha remains like most religious institutions, conservative. It reflects the outer. Cheers
Herve
Yes, I see tonight I made my conversions a little too light. I had sunlight streaming in my kitchen earlier while sitting at my laptop doing the RAW conversions.
dear panos,
i’m very relaxed. just wanted to point out that it is better for everybody if hillary clinton is not the president and obama is. i dont think many complained that hillary lost because she’s a woman. that would be ridiculous as she was defeated by someone who is more minority than she. To me all this talking about women photographers having fewer opportunities makes little sense. In fact most photo editors are women and this confirms my belief (also sustained by many women i know) that very often the first enemies of women are their collegues women.
as to michael jackson: he’s not much different now than he’s been in the past 15 years….at least he has found peace now. hopefully.
Thanks Oli, there are indeed outstnaidng women bouddhist in Thailand. Hell, outstanding women, period!
I hope we can meet next I come to Thailand. That should be next winter…
let me rephrase that:
There are outstanding Buddhist women in Thailand.
I think Preston get the point, probably most girls dream about magnum and WPP when they start; than in a certain point they realize that they are already happy with what they achieve and they don’t need to put themslefes to the edge.
A question about a magnum woman photographer: why Maya Goded in not anymore in the nominees, what happened to her?
Gordon…
Thanks! Took a long while to find the right musical accompaniment. But I think that one works. Thanks for noticing. Also, am working on another. Hope to have it up by end of summer.
ALBERTINA….
you need to speak with Maya……or with me in private…..
DUCKRABBIT…
yes, i do remember the Chernobyl victims and the ride back to Havana…funny we should meet again here….
i am not sure about swapping out the word “taste” for “tribalism”, but you might have a point….maybe taste comes from tribalism …i am not sure….certainly “taste” come from all sorts of input including the “trends” that might come from “tribalism”..most people “develop taste” which could in many cases just mean influence by the “tribe”…in any case, an interesting thought…
i just left London and too bad we did not meet if that is where you are…please contact me: http://www.david@burnmagazine.org if you have time…
cheers, david
LISA….
i think you totally misunderstand the process for getting into Magnum…a seven year minimum process that is all about the work and not about gender…..and you totally skipped over the fact that this “good old boys club” is the ONLY agency trying to do something about creating a balance …did you not read what i wrote???
you and i spent ten days together, i worked very hard to help you with your work, and we have exchanged many a private e-mail….i have NEVER put you down have i??? scratching my bald head on this one my friend..
big hug, david
ALBERTINA…
you are a talented and gifted photographer…i have told you this many times…you also well know that i have told you that i will help you all i can to achieve all that you can be….you have so much energy and good spirit and great photography….do not let anything get in your way…and by “anything” i mean allowing any energy draining thoughts into your head…please get in touch with me this summer in New York or when i am in Italy in a couple of weeks….so, what happened to the East L.A. work???
un abbraccio grande, david
I think it is good that David brings the issue up. Yes, it has been discussed thousand times, and many are really bored by it.. But, as long as this problem exist, I think we can continue talking about it.. It is complex though
Let´s start with the children thing: You hear it the whole time: ”she was a really good photographer, but hen she got children and…..” Or ”you can have all possibilities, you don´t have children…” Well, what do these sayings do to young female photographers? It creates a big fear of getting children, and that you have to be at your best before taking that step. You think: Shit, I have to hurry up to make a carrier, because the day I want children everything will be difficult. By the perfect age of getting a child (from a physic point of view), you are most likely not on the top of your carrier, just on the way there. The successful male photographers with children I know, have a really really patient girlfriend.
After saying this, I know not all female photographers want children, I don’t mean to stigmatize all women by mention this as the main-thing. So please don’t misunderstand.
One other thing I have seen through my years working in the newspapers and magazines. When big things happen, like tsunami, earthquakes, war, etc, nine out of ten times the editor will send a male photographer. Why? To say it in a very cynical way, this type of work often give the prizes in picture of the year etc, which will then go to the men.
Also a female colleague of mine got this comment from the boss: You are not the best photographer that applied, but you are the only girl.
When working and travelling around on my own taking pictures, I don’t face many problems just because I am a woman. Sometimes rather the opposite; I travelled in Greenland alone for weeks, and people would really care for me. Of course, some light sexual harassments would happen now and then, but it would be foolish to scream up, I don’t take it seriously.
So personally I think being a woman with a camera is FANTASTIC in most ways, but sometimes the system is filled with too much testosterone.
Sorry to be off topic (maybe not…) but does anybody knows the news coming out of the Magnum meeting? Apart from Cristina, who’s in? And who’s out? Are there nominees this year?
Thanks
@ Martin
http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=864229
MARTIN…
no new nominees this year….only Cristina Garcia Rodero accepted as a new full member….Mikail Subotsky went from nominee to associate….Olivia Arthur will be up for associate next summer…..Jakob Aue Sobol, Chris Anderson on deck for full membership next year….
ANDREA…
we are now trying to get your Body Work up soonest…..you should have an e-mail from Anton requesting the proper sizes , artist statement etc….your essay looks terrific….many thanks….
cheers, david
Thanks Paul and DAH.
Contradicting info… should I go with DAH’s as he’s the insider, the Minister of Education?
The BJP says that Sobol stays as nominee, while Sanguinetti and Subotsky go up as associates. If i remember well, those three went in the same year… so who’s right? Normally Sobol should be up for full membership in two years time… And what about Anderson? He stays associate? Sometimes I wonder if it is really about the photography in Magnum. Sometimes it seems like it is about the Magnum photographers ‘caprices’ (whims in french)… What do you think?
(Joining would be a good way to have this info… hmmm… but I am not a woman, I quit pro photography five years ago and I am 35. Is it too late?)
Have a good day!
David, thanks.. I have mailed with Anton, but I told him you guys should have a look at my Greenland project, I have some new photos. I wondering if I rather want to publish that one now.. What do you think? If we can skype, I can show you the new work.
Best, Andrea
ANDREA…
this is your choice…and i do like the Greenland story as well..two totally different animals and there is no reason not to publish them both…just with some separation i think…
MARCIN…
it is only about the photography and the growth of the photography in these individuals……that in turn affects these sometimes confusing categories, not the other way around…no whims…our first choice is always to move someone forward….you must remember Marcin, that you are not seeing what we are seeing…the portfolios , the books…we study these very very carefully….and when one moves from nominee to associate they must have all new work in those two years….from my point of view it seems that everyone wants to blame everyone and everything except the actual work of the photographer….some photographers we really really liked in the beginning just do not move from where they were…our primary concern is to find photographers who will have a lifetime of work, not just a couple of good years…i am sure you can understand this….while in life there can always be injustice, there can also be justice….i think there was justice at the meeting this year based on the work we were presented by the photographers mentioned here…
sorry, i forgot who was where…yes, Sobol stays as nominee…Sanguinetti and Subotsky move to associate…Anderson stays as associate (which makes him and the others eligible for full membership as i said next year)…
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE……remember, Bruce Gilden, Cristina Garcia Rodero and DAH all became full Magnum members after age 50…generally , it is better to be younger, but obviously not always…actually all of us who came in late actually were serious from an early age…we just came late to Magnum for a variety of personal reasons…
some artists bloom young and go forever (Picasso) ..some start of with a bang and burn out quickly…others (like Matisse) flower late…
cheers, david
If we are looking at age, Arbus is another good example, she wasn’t serious until around age 33, and passed away at age 48..that’s just 15 years of working in a dedicated way, and look what she produced. It really is never too late to make a commitment to what you love..