The BBC News site showcases Wolfgang Tillmans’ photos of Haiti taken for Christian Aid. A serious case of ‘celeb’ photographer not delivery the goods?
I seriously wonder what Christian Aid were thinking when they commissioned these photos? That just because Tillmans won the Turner Prize it would attract much needed attention to the continuing need to support the people of Haiti one year after the quake? Surely a compelling collection of images that told personal stories from across the country would have done that, no matter who took them? Images that were invested with time and knowledge. What we have here could have been collected by a development worker who was relatively competent with a camera over a couple of days. Sorry Wolfgang and Christian Aid but you get a C-.
Filed under: Photography Tagged: | Caribbean&Central America, Haiti
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Yumi Goto. Yumi Goto said: RT @RightsExposure: Wolfgang Tillmans photos of Haiti for Christian Aid http://ow.ly/3BC3d [...]
[...] like UNICEF, not to mention Christian Aid’s sponsorship of Wolfgang Tillman’s unremarkable snaps. # Thinking about these journalistic memorials, and looking back at the original coverage, what are [...]
Hmm, it sounds like an example of the art buyer, in this case Christian Aid, not understanding how to hire the right photog for the job. That’s how just Wolfgang Tillman shoots. His style IS the “snapshot aesthetic”. If they wanted something that looked like proper reportage or National Geographic, they should have hired a photojournalist or a travel photographer.