Pennell Photography Collection

Here's an interesting collection to look at:

Pennell Photography Collection:

'via Blog this'

Catherine Filene Shouse with Iranian Diplomats in Virginia, August 1977

I chose this photograph primarily because I found the people and activities most interesting. In particular, their style of dress and hair and pleasing nature of the event that has been so candidly taken. It looks like a fairly happy picture, which can be difficult to find for documentary photos. It gives a sense of what August 1977 leisure activities were like near the very government-centric location of Washington, D.C.

I know very little about the actual event. The description that accompanied this photographs tells me that one woman (second to right) is Catherine Filene Shouse. Shouse apparently bought a farm in Vienna, Virginia in 1930 that she later turned into the first National Park for the performing arts. The park is called the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. This photograph was shot at Wolf Trap National Park in August, 1977 with Iranian politicians and some unidentified people. Specifically, the Shahbanou (or Empress, third from right) and Ambassador of Iran (far right) are being photographed walking in the park while a crowd sits on a lawn.

Guards at Gyeonbokgung, South Korea

Creator	Bruno Barbey
Title	KOREA. SOUTH KOREA. Seoul. Kyeongbok palace. Guards exchange. 2007.
Date	2007
ARTstor Collection	Magnum Photos
ID Number	PAR332091.jpg

I was drawn to choosing a picture from South Korea because I recently returned from a study abroad trip there. This one in particular stood out to me because of the fakeness of it. This picture is taken at the front gate of the Gyeongbokgung (Gyeonbeok palace), a huge palace in the heart of the busy metropolis of Seoul. No royal family lives in that palace. Very little of the palace even remains, between the destruction caused by fires and by the Japanese occupation, so many of the buildings that are on the palace grounds are built within the last 20 years, and much of the palace remains empty. And at the front gate, you have hired guards, who guard nothing - who are in fact guarded by their own safety rail (seen along the bottom of the picture). In the background, you have the corners of the next gate cut off by the vertical columns of the front gate, so you cannot see the majesty of the building, nor the fact that the roofs are designed to mimic the curves of the mountains behind them (mountains you cannot even see). On either side of the picture, you see modern tourists streaming past. Overall, the picture seems to communicate to me the sharp divide between past and present, the constraints that are placed around traditional culture by modern Korean culture. The historical places are hemmed in by the modern city, and must be protected from any further encroachment. But already, the wings of traditional have been clipped for the sake of modernity and commerce. 

The Nation's Hero Rests In Peace, George Ray Chamberlain, circa 1890-1910

I went through a number of photographs on ArtSTOR, but I kept on thinking of this image.  Someone had requested a print of it this week at my place of employment, presumably to hang around the house.  There are many reasons it interests me.  The first is the medium. The print was produced from a glass plate negative which I find interesting from a nostalgic point of view.  Every time I see a glass plate negative, my mind produces an image of what polaroids would be like if they spit out glass instead.

The second, and more interesting part, is the history of the photograph.  A small collection of glass plates were found in someone's attic then given to a prominent photographer on the island who eventually donated the collection to the museum I work at.  The dates get extremely tricky because they could only guess based on the timeline of Chamberlain's career.  When I asked who the "Nation's Hero" was, a coworker said their best guess was Grant after trying to inspect the image with a microscope.  I personally doubt Grant because his death does not match well with the Chamberlain's career; I prefer McKinley.  Unfortunately, the portrait hanging above the podium is the blurriest portion of the photo so we may never know.

It is also interesting to consider a time when remote memorial services would draw such a large crowd.  I remember watching the televised funeral for Richard Nixon in my youth, but I can't imagine doing so en masse.  The immensity of the church ceiling seems to swallow the sadness of the moment.

Iowa Farm

Although it was taken in Iowa, 1998, this photograph looks like it could have easily been made in my hometown of Ohio. I grew up in farm country and one of my favorite things was watching the storms roll in over the fields. However, I was lucky enough to never be caught in a tornado, despite the frequent warnings we always get during the change in seasons. Other than the nostalgia and familiarity I feel towards this photo, I appreciate that it demonstrates the value of photography as a documentary art. The photographer may have been the last person to capture this scene if a destructive wind force had indeed hit as the forecast predicted. I also love that the black and white film lend a sort of timelessness to this image. To me, it looks as if it could have been taken anywhere between the 1950's and yesterday afternoon.

Creator	Larry Towell
Title	IOWA. Carroll. 1998. The Eisheid family hog farm and approaching storm with tornando warnings in effect. The farm is home of Al and Lisa (parents), Jason (17), Ryan (14), Eric (13), and Kurt (8). ©Larry Towell/Magnum Photos
Date	1998
Subject	Usa
ARTstor Collection	Magnum Photos
ID Number	NYC13429.jpg

N.IRELAND. Hunger Strike. 1981. - Peter Marlow

 I chose this photograph because of its absurd portrayal of the conflict in N. Ireland. The masked man here is standing with his arms smugly folded in front of a burning wreckage as if he were some kind of superhero/villian(it looks just like the type of poster ad you would see for the latest blockbuster superhero movie). Yet, what heroic deeds has this young man performed in order to justify his defiant stance? Upon reading the caption you will discover that "two Catholic teenagers were accidentally killed by British Army troops who drove into a group of rioters hurling petrol bombs." In short, it was the reckless action of rioters(wielding petrol bombs) such as this young man, and not the British Army(armed with plastic bullets) that led to the deaths of the two teenagers. In their hasty desire to rebel and "stick it to the man" these rioters blew up cars and wreaked havoc, but behind all of the superficial Hollywood-esque action flick glamour there is nothing but misguided teenage angst. Although this man appears proud in his accomplishments and may deem himself a hero of the cause or a villain to the state(especially if he sees this image in the newspaper), ultimately he and his kin are not worthy of either title. What he sees in this image and what others see are entirely different things, yet from an objective point of view there is certainly nothing admirable about this self-assumed "hero" whose irrational actions have led to the deaths of two young people.