On Friday 4 May 2012 I had the privilege to hear João Silva
speak to a group of photojournalism students and faculty at the Corcoran
College of Art and Design. João Silva is
a Portuguese born war/conflict photographer living in South Africa. However, he shies away from the label war
photographer although he has dedicated his life to it for the last 20 years
since first beginning work for Alberton Record covering the political violence
of Apartheid in South Africa.
After listening to his remarkable story, I decided to find
out more about his work, and his story. Amongst
my research I found a 30 August 2011 NY
Times story titled “This Is What I Do.
This Is All That I Know” (
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/this-is-what-i-do-this-is-all-that-i-know/). As I read through the NY Times story I was
haunted by reading many of the same words I had just heard from the source – João
Silva. The NY Times article tells
Silva’s compelling story and provides remarkable depth sure to leave an
indelible impression. I recommend it to
you.
João is a double amputee.
He lost his legs when, in his words, when “I was blown up.” On October
23, 2010 he stepped on a mine while on a minesweeping patrol with US troops in Kandahar
Afghanistan on contract with the NY Times.
He tells the story of feeling the sinking feeling of stepping on the
mind and feeling the mechanical trip the instant before the mine took his legs
and flung him face down in the dust. The
next thing he remembered was knowing “this is not good” and seeing his legs
were gone. Lying there he called for
help, was dragged from the kill zone, and immediately returned to his
journalistic instincts picking up his camera to continue documenting as medics
worked to save his life.
Was it worth it? Joao
was clear on this subject. “As photojournalists, we are the eyes of the world
and it is important to document what we see - even at the cost of my legs. Yes, it is worth it. Images change peoples lives.” In addition to the physical sacrifice, João conveyed
that the camera does not exclude you from what you see - there is an emotional
toll. “The emotions are real and what
you see affects you – but like my legs, the emotion and pain is worth the
service we provide. Photography will not
change the world, but it can influence the individual and how they think about
the world.”
During the question and answer portion of the talk, I was
able to ask João how he experienced and dealt with the conflict between his
role to document and the impulse to intervene and offer assistance. This question led to several stories of
atrocities he had witnessed and the constant struggle between clicking the
shutter and helping someone in need. One
of the stories involved a gruesome mob killing in South Africa as he was
covering political conflicts of Apartheid.
A young man was beaten, slashed, clubbed and eventually burned. There was nothing he could do but document
although the horrific scene is one that will never leave. In part, this contributed to his book (co-written
with Greg Marinovich – another member of The Bang Bang Club) and subsequent
movie, The Bang Bang Club.
In the NY Times article, Joao tells another story of his
friend, colleague, and fellow member of The Bang Bang Club that dramatically
and tragically emphasizes the balance between historian with a camera and the
humanity of a photojournalist:
“A very good friend of
mine, Kevin Carter, eventually took his own life. He made the famous picture in
Sudan. There’s this child lying face down in the dirt and there’s a vulture
stalking the child. He was highly criticized for that picture. People who had
no place in criticizing him —
people who had no understanding of the dynamics that it took to make that
picture — criticized him to the
point that he got all conflicted. He took his life a month after winning the
Pulitzer.
People always assume
that this heartless photographer just walked past and shot the image of the
child, and that wasn’t the case. For one, the child was a few hundred yards
from a feeding center. That child was not abandoned. But that’s the power of photography.
You isolate something, you transmit your image through that isolation, and it
was the most powerful image. Ultimately that image was such a strong message of
famine. Suddenly there was this influx of money that came out of nowhere. He
saved more lives by taking that picture than he would have by not taking the
picture.”
João told other stories such as a time in Lebanon when a
bomb decimated a neighborhood - he saw a man running through the street yelling
for help as he carried his bloodied daughter in his arms. He put the camera away and drove the pair to
the hospital. He recounted this as a recurring
event – a time when his humanity took clear precedence over his role as a
documentarian. “We are humans first, but
we should not apologize for our role as photojournalists – the eyes of the
world and what we document is important.”
João concluded by
saying he does not intend to let his injuries stop him. He may not have the mobility to go back to
battlefield photography, but he is anxious to continue with the next phase of
his career. Like the title of the NY
Times article, “This is what I do. This
is all that I know.” During his visit to
the Corcoran, Joao Silva is receiving an honorary Doctorate. Thanks to João for generously spending his time
and story with us.
Have fun, and go make some great photography.
Craig
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