Anyone who passes away at 92 will have lead a life that covers a lot of ground. And John's was no exception. He was a news and magazine photographer during the era when that vocation was needed to fill the print media pages that brought us news through pictures. He was a combat photographer during WW II and Korea. Hardly surprising, he worked for Life magazine, that over-sized weekly that landed in nearly every home and waiting room until the 1970s. Still photography, principally black and white, brought us the pictures that were worth a thousand words.
News photography has always been a tough artistic sell. Is it really a good picture, even great picture, because of how it was taken, or merely because it depicts a historic event? Accompanying the obituary is a small 1958 photo of Mr. Dominis, along with a much larger image of the medal presentation at the 1968 Summer Olympics for the men's 200 meter dash.
As photos go, it doesn't come close to the picture of Babe Ruth taken from behind at Yankee Stadium, or the hole in presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson's shoe. But the image, when it hit the wire services, had a tremendous impact.
The two black American athletes, who finished first and third, Tommie Smith and John Carlos are seen each raising a black gloved hand with their heads bowed during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. This was their protest about the treatment of blacks in America. The 60s saw a lot of protests.
The reaction to the photo was immediate and sharp from all sides. As many times as I've seen the photo I didn't realize that Tommie Smith is raising a gloved right hand, and John Carlos is raising a gloved left hand. They split the pair of gloves.
In interviews about the image Mr. Dominis explained that it was almost a grab shot. He did nothing special, he just happened to realize the award ceremony was going on, and that that these two individuals were doing something they told no one about beforehand. He was at the right place and the right time, and there was film in the camera. No one at the Olympic Stadium thought too much about the gestures. Until the photo hit the streets.
Second news obit up for the first day of the new year is that of Patricia Ryan, 75, an editor at Time Inc. who started as a typing pool secretary, and eventually rose to be a top editor at Time and People magazines.
We know obituary page editors like groupings if they can get them, so the fact that we have two people who worked for the media giant Time-Life being noted on the same page is not a coincidence. It's even likely that the writer of Ms. Ryan's obituary worked with her along the way. Writers and editors travel in concentric circles.
So, another year in the can, 2013, and a new one starting. As Pete Hamill has cleverly observed, life is the leading cause of death.
But you do have to see things with some sunshine. After all, how bad can a year be if you're alive at the end of it?
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment