World Press Photo of the Year

[ElisabethWhispers]

Thoughts?

[nevergaveitathought]

representative of the dar al islam, naked and bruised by infidels, never the less standing for allah, ready for heavenly reward, soothed and succored by the purity of its women?

[ElisabethWhispers]

Guess that I hadn't thought of it like that. It's an intense and moving image, though.

Elisabeth

[nevergaveitathought]

Originally Posted by ElisabethWhispers

Guess that I hadn't thought of it like that. It's an intense and moving image, though.

Elisabeth

did you view the picture with any universality and if so what was it?

perhaps just the idea of the changes in the arab world? and why obama and hillary calls it the arab "spring" i'll never know, as it seems like even more rigidity is developing

[Iaintliein]

I love photography, so it's all the more depressing to see it used in support of a death cult, heavily spiked with hypocrisy since I believe one of the death cult's central tenants is no "graven images" of living things.

Nothing good has ever come out of the middle east.

[TheDaliLama]

[I B Hankering]

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Charles Caleb Colton

[Ernest Heming]

Looks like a statue of Jesus and Mary, both of the Middle East

[nevergaveitathought]

Originally Posted by Ernest Heming

Looks like a statue of Jesus and Mary, both of the Middle East

yes, a latter day suffering at the foot of the cross

[Rakhir]

Problem with photographs of such sort is that you cannot know the context in which is was taken. There might be a whole lot more going on outside of the frame which would change the narrative of the subject matter. I am always skeptical of the agenda of the photograph presented like this.

Do not misunderstand me when I question images. I can certainly appreciate the composition, subject matter, exposure, texture and emotions invoked. I too an am artist in this area and use the same techniques to invoke response from my audience. But just because I can appreciate it doesn't mean I don't question those viewings with a healthy dose of cynicism.

[Whirlaway]

It doesn't tell a story; it doesn't convey emotion. It is lifeless. It is open to so many interpretations that it is nothingness............it is meaningless. It is useless.

But a jury selected it. I think the jury is out of touch. Unless there is somthing so technicaly stellar that only a "professional" can appreciate the photo.

[AdventureAdams]

Originally Posted by Whirlaway

It doesn't tell a story; it doesn't convey emotion. It is lifeless. It is open to so many interpretations that it is nothingness............it is meaningless. It is useless.

But a jury selected it. I think the jury is out of touch. Unless there is somthing so technicaly stellar that only a "professional" can appreciate the photo.

True I think what makes most pictures memorable is that we can see facial expressions that convey emotions which we relate to. So the photo seems kind of explanatory, it makes me curious about what is going on in this ladies head is she sad, angry, disgusted.

At the Newsuem in DC they have this they have a Pulitzer photography Prize display that showed all of the winning photograph since the awards conception, most of this pictures you could tell exactly what was going on in these pictures with reading the captions.

[CuteOldGuy]

We assume they're Muslims because of how the woman is dressed. Therefore, they must be our enemies.

First thing I thought of was "Really? Muslims can love? A muslim mother holding an injured or dead son? Maybe they are people, too."

Through the veiled sarcasm, I hope it points out the infinite value of each individual. That's why we must stop running off and randomly killing them just because they are brown.

[Guest050715-1]

It's an extremely powerful statement. I'm glad to have seen it, but I wish I hadn't if that makes any sense. To me it is a statement of human cruelty not our humanity. Was he crying for his family, because he'd just been physically tortured, because he is giving into Stockholm Syndrome and it is too much for him? The kindness is almost too cruel. Best not to participate in such cruelties in the first place. The woman in the picture could sleep at night better, and so could the man for that matter; he'd be home with his family. Sad.

[ElisabethWhispers]

Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

We assume they're Muslims because of how the woman is dressed. Therefore, they must be our enemies.

First thing I thought of was "Really? Muslims can love? A muslim mother holding an injured or dead son? Maybe they are people, too."

Through the veiled sarcasm, I hope it points out the infinite value of each individual. That's why we must stop running off and randomly killing them just because they are brown.

I liked your first paragraph. The gloves are dirty but it shows tenderness. Not sure if it's meant to copy a picture of Jesus and Mary, but that was a VERY good observation!

I didn't over think the picture too much when I saw it for the first time this morning. I just figured that it would cause some interesting discussions from the folks here.

It could be as simple as a nurse giving comfort to a dying man and a photographer shot the image and it caused an emotion from others while viewing it.

EW