Hello, Everyone!I'm David Glen and will be visiting your aesthetics class on Thursday, February 21, and am looking forward to talking with you.
I thought I would give you a little background on who I am before we meet.
I am a documentary photographer and investigative journalist and was born in Kenya, East Africa, in 1953.
I attended a private boarding school in Northern Kenya, and thereafter attended Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, Scotland. At the age of fifteen, I went to work as an apprentice in the heavy engineering division of the Iron and Steel Corporation of South Africa (ISCOR) in Vanderbijlpark, near Johannesburg. I later moved to Cape Town where I found a love for mountaineering and photography.
I first visited the Himalayas in 1973 at the age of twenty, reaching the South Col at 26,000 feet on Mount Everest with just one Sherpa companion. I spent a further five weeks climbing in the vicinity of Cho Oyu and Pumori indulging my love for photography, and developed a long term affection for the region and its Sherpa people. I'm still a frequent visitor to the Himalayas.
I've also spent long periods shooting documentary photography in a variety of countries. I've lived in Saudi Arabia, and have travelled on assignments in Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, the Gulf States, Egypt, India, Nepal, the remote Kingdom of Mustang (now part of Nepal), Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Costa Rica, the great southern ice caps of Chilean Patagonia, Russia, and more recently the Balkan states of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Romania, and Hungary.
I now devote the majority of my documentary work to the poignant issue of child trafficking and the exploitation of children, increasing awareness of the insidious rise of this pandemic throughout the world. I am currently producing a photo journal entitled “Little People, Big Business” which looks critically at the plight of exploited and endangered children at the start of the 21st Century.
I hope to have an open dialogue with you about the aesthetic value in documentary photography citing three or four of my own icons in this field. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or otherwise post comments either before or after my presentation on Thursday.
I'll also post one or two images in advance to whet your appetite which we can discuss in class.
David Glen
15 comments:
David,
Thanks so much for coming in to speak with our class! I left with a new appreciation for the aesthetics of documentary photography. At LCAD its always interesting to hear from professionals that are outside of our realm of study. Yet the topics you were addressing are relevant to everyone who considers themselves an artist.
Response to David Glen's presentation
This semester I started an on-line Cultural Anthropology Class. I am only a few weeks into the course, but my approach to art has already been altered. By approach I mean my motivation and thought process that leads up to drawing and painting. As my skills improve from studies and sketching, I am faced with what I intend on doing with those skills and what inspires me to create beyond wanting to make cool images. In my Cultural Anthropology class I was disturbed by a video I watched and in turn prompted to incorporate how I felt into a personal art project. I wanted use my creative skills as a vehicle to share how I felt.
Recently I put together a presentation for a speech class and in that presentation I expressed how I am determined to follow my heart and do what I am passionate about. In essence the foundation of my presentation was based on my belief that artists can be very successful when they focus on what they are passionate about on a personal level as opposed to what might make money or fit into a trend.
During David Glen's presentation I connected with the concept of making an emotional connection with the subject. It's hard not to believe that the aesthetic experience of something (be it a photo, illustration, or painting) is greatly impacted by an artist's emotional approach to creating it.
The idea of art having an additional layer (an emotional layer) to it might sound too farty, or hippy dippy, but I look at it as putting thought into what you do. In David's words: "what do you care about?" There's nothing wrong with creating commercial art to make a living, but I think every artist has something stirring inside that (if explored) could cultivate a stronger emotional connection to their art; in turn that connection can enhance the aesthetic impression of something that would otherwise be admired simply for it's technical execution. "Great painting man, I love the loose brushwork and composition!"
It's clear to me that if you put energy into figuring out what you care about, and additionally figure out how to connect to things on a more personal and emotional level, people will see and feel it in your work (they might have- like an aesthetic experience man). You don't have to drop some peyote and go on a vision quest... just slow down enough to see what's going on in you as well as the world around you.
Ok...... Rrrright.... I think I’ve rambled on enough. Ten dollars to the person that can figure out what I just said.
David,
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and photography with us. I found many of the points you made to be rather poingant, in particular, that capturing the personalities and motivations of people are one of the most important elements in judging the aesthetic value of documentary photography.
As an illustrator, I feel this is something that very much applies (or at least should apply) to any field of art. One of the primary reasons I draw is to express emotion and explore human psychology. I have a particular passion for science fiction which is a field (in film, writing, and art) where these topics are particularly relevant. Even when illustrating or studying fictional characters, I find I can only be truly passionate about the subjects if their emotions, personality, and motivations are the primary focus of the piece. Characters are the driving factor in any good work of fiction so the ability to understand and express the thoughts of the characters you're working with is crucial for an artist, be they a painter, writer, filmaker, etc.
I think this also ties in well with the suggestion you gave all of us: find out what subject drives you and make that your focus. I'd say the subject that drives me most in life is understanding the way thinks work. This is relfected in my interest in character development. Characters are always thew focus of my art because I find that exploring human psychology through fiction and art is an excellent way to explore and improve one's understanding of the world.
-Chelsea
Thanks for visiting our class David!
I thoroughly enjoyed David's presentation and his conversation about western vs. European trends in photography. While i enjoy a beautiful photo, just as i would enjoy a nice painting, i feel that if it lacks soul or content it only holds my attention for so long.
Information is available everywhere we go, that includes pictures, text, and multimedia, and I think an important question to ask is what are going to do with this information? What does this information do for the benefit of society? As David pointed out he had to pick his battle. Had he decided to stick with a western mindset and chosen not to get personally involved, I wonder what effect his work would have had on the world.
I think we should enjoy art for pure aesthetic experience as well a deeper meaning and exploration.
This really encourages me to apply my skill set to target specific cultural needs and battles. As i've been learning in the past few years, skill is important, but it is just as important to learn how to apply that skill.
In the U.S. and developed western countries things can seem pretty dandy even with the bumps in the road, compared to many other countries we are quite privileged. Hats off to David for getting involved in a painful issue he didn't have to get involved with. Another thing that i was reminded of is that it doesn't matter what medium we use to communicate. Whether you are an illustrator, designer, or interactive developer, you can apply your talents in an effective way that engages peoples hearts just as David's work does.
Many thanks for your comments on my presentation. It is really gratifying to know that my message was so well received.
Thinking more about this, I consider the roles played by the great artists of history...painters, sculptors, photographers, even writers...the vast majority were in their own way documentarians. They defined history for us using their medium of choice, and their motives were not that different to mine and those of us who see the value of taking a meaningful photograph, or of illustrating a specific thought or concept.
All of us are setting down the visual evidence of our time for those who will come after us. In doing so, it is imperative that we tell the truth about what we see around us every day, and that we connect with the heart of the matter on both an intellectual and an emotional level. We owe that to posterity because if we fail to tell the truth, are disingenuous in our motives, or manipulate facts, we violate the trust not just of those alive today but of future generations to come.
David
Varuna...thanks for your comments, and I'm afraid you might owe me that $10!! I figured out that you absorbed the message admirably. But take the $10 and buy yourself some more tools of your trade, make that emotional connection with what you really care about, and remember that we don't necessarily have to solve the problems of the world...we just each need to leave it a little bit better.
David
For Chelsea...
Thanks for your comments, Chelsea. Illustration is without doubt a challenging medium if you are to keep a good grasp on your integrity as a person. But its message can be very strong, especially to younger people who increasingly are exposed to animation and illustrated storytelling today.
Your facility to transmit clear and meaningful messages is in some ways akin to the stand-up comedian; there are those who use shock tactics, coarse language, and crudity to entertain their audiences, and there are those who use clever humor devoid of any crudeness who appeal to our intelligence, and bring out the human foibles in us all. This latter method is tougher but when it works it is so much funnier.
Similarly, one can with illustration opt to convey a story that has great value to the viewer, and contributes to posterity. I am reminded of all the wonderful Tin Tin books I collected and read avidly as a kid. Those beautifully illustrated books by Herge were the first impetus for me to become a journalist and to go adventuring far afield. And all of those stories not only educated kids but left them with wonderful subliminal messages.
If you've never read any, check them out!
David
For Ben...
Thanks, Ben, for your comments too.
Picking one's battles is very much a part of identifying who we are as people, and what we truly care about. The difficult thing for most people is to force themselves to step outside of the cocoon so many of us started off in...that safe environment called familiarity. For me, familiarity became terribly boring...I needed to challenge all of my senses and see what I was made of.
What's important though is to do this without ever taking for granted the fact that someone, at some time in our past, made the cocoon so that we could be safe and a privileged member of humanity.
My choice to work with disavowed children didn't exactly plunge me into a world of happy smiling faces. But it only takes one little smiling face to make me realize that it is worth it...that my chosen vocation has paid off.
David
David,
Bravo! The thoughtful and sensitive comments you have offered to these students are priceless. As we delve into the issues at the root of aesthetic thought and expression we are indeed looking into the human spirit and mind. The more artists have an awareness of the means and methods of connecting with ones human family the clearer and more compelling the communication will be.
Bill
The Presentation from David Glen was amazing. I am personally attached to photography, not only through the lens but as a graphic designer. As a designer I work with an array of photo assets- usually looking for one thing, which is to find the most alluring and effective photo possible to suit the project I am working on. So to hear David's philosophy on photography was very insightful. He touched on some very key topics that made an impression on the way I can aesthetically understand how to approach documentary photography.
Especially on how the appeal of the photo is meant to lure you in order to understand the purpose of the documentary. The humanizing of your subjects is one of the upmost aesthetically traits brought into documentary photography. It is important for the photographer to be accepted by the subjects they are filming. It helps them connect to the subjects and gives a level of trust and honesty to the photo. The photos are not necessarily about the color or composition, it is about telling the story of the subject and their roll in the human condition.
All of the points David made were critically important to understanding the nature of studying other people by means of photography. To have the professional opinion of a well trained photographer can show us the aesthetic nature of shooting the photo as well as enjoying the finished project.
David Glenn’s lecture was very enjoyable. He is quite a good photographer but I realize that he is much more than that, he’s a humanitarian. I was impressed with his work when he spoke in our Modern and Contemporary Art History class and this time was no different. There were a few key points that he made that stick out in my mind. The first was the differentiation that he made between the American aesthetic and the European aesthetic in terms of documentary photographic style. He describes the American aesthetic as cold, distant, interested in getting the shot needed by the editor regardless of who they step on in the process. By my assessment that sounds about right. The American photographer (stereotypically speaking) seems to be very opportunistic and only interested in the paycheck involved in getting the shot. I suppose that would be consistent with the way thing are done in our country. Get the picture, get the paycheck, buy the car, live the dream, the rest is your problem. I for one find the European aesthetic much more appealing. It seems to be more artistic and far more humane. I find what David does far more admirable even if one were to judge him solely on the quality of his work, never mind his efforts to make the world a better place for the children he is helping. His ability to bring the human element to light in his work makes it so much better than any paparazzi photo. His caring of the people he photographs shines through in every image. You can’t fake that. Another thing that he said in regards to the aesthetic quality of his work or to anyone’s work was that you will always bring a bit of yourself to whatever it is you do, and whatever it is that you hold most important will always shine through and be evident in the final product. I believe that to be true. Especially if you are aware of this, which brings me to another great point that he made. I order to do anything great and to create anything with any aesthetic significance you must first connect with who ever you are as a person. I found a lot of value in that statement. Before you can offer anything good to other you must first know yourself. I really enjoyed listening to Mr. Glenn and was blown away by his photography. I am glad that people like him exist.
David Glen's presentation was a beautiful one. The images he showed us were powerful. I really enjoyed the footage of the photographers taking pictures on site. Seeing the quiet care he took with his body movements and the focus and precision of the shots felt so choreographed and artful compared to my previous conception of documentary photography, which was filled with impartial pointing and repetitive clicking.
There were a lot of parallels with the goals of yourself and the other photographers with those of the graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi, who also recently made the movie Persepolis. She said that she wanted to put a human face on the Iranian people to the West, because she was disgusted by the way they were depicted on the news and in the media. Here she is talking about her motivation for her work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMwfzqEqVLk
if the link doesn't work, its the first video on you tube that shows up when you type in her name.
I think one of the most important fights today is the idea that all life has value. Thank you for "picking your battle" and sharing it with us. It's people like you that will help change the world.
I was very Inspired by David Glen's visit. what was especially influencing was the way he addressed the question "what is most important to you" he made me reconsider the answer I would have initially given. It seemed to be a question of what is most important to you as a form of inspiration, rather than what matters most because it would be painful to be without it. I was Fascinated by the issues David is currently addressing with his art and I really hope to see some photos. The Honesty and compassion David spoke of that drives his work should be the foremost concern of every artist.
-kate daly
I enjoyed listening to what David Glen had to say the other day. I was just reintroduced to photography as an art the other day when I visited the Phoenix Art Museum. I felt it was a good follow up for me to listen to David's point of view on the subject. I was unaware of the two different methods of photographic journalism: Western and European. It makes sense to me that the more abrupt and impersonal method is slowly becoming more out of date compared to the humanitarian approach. I feel a good piece of art, no matter what medium, should encompass some sort of personal and relatable element and David's lecture just reaffirmed that idea with his examples.
David's lecture posed thoughtful and interesting questions that were relevant to what was being discussed in class and it was a pleasure to get to hear him talk about his passions and experiences.
David.
Hey this is brian Aleksander...
I acknowledged you after you spoke but i think the big thing to mention is the value of what you shared. i was really inspired by what u said. Now i dont mean u changed my way of thinking and now i am a new person but more along the lines of a hard shake where i woke up and realized i was noding out in class. The bubble burst in the sense that i see life for as tuff as it is... i got it great. I remembered the places where i volunteered before and the faces of the people that where happy with nothing. The lecture was a recharge to my commitment to making a difference in the world. Thanks. Oh and by the way send me ur contact info about the show to bgler118@yahoo.com
thanks again
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