In the year 2000, photographer Ron Haviv published Blood and Honey, a photo book depicting his documentation of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia between the Serbs and the other ethnic groups in the area. One of the most notable and lasting photos from the book depicts a Serbian paramilitary member kicking the body of the dying civilian.
Almost all the major global publications, such as NYTimes, NPR, The Guardian, and more, have commented on this photo, mostly as part of book reviews for Blood and Honey. Overwhelmingly, the response to this image seems to be a feeling of great emotional power. It has been called the “most powerful and famous [image] from the Bosnian War.” (Peter Beaumont, The Guardian) Others have called it “one of the most gripping in his new book” (JOHN KIFNER, New York Times), “one of the most striking images to come out of the Balkans in the last decade of violence” (Kate Milner, BBC), and a photo that “speak[s] for [itself]” (Wade Goddard WAR PHOTO)
This image has a strong power to it, it seems, because not only does it depict something striking, but because it has larger connotations. This picture represents one of, if not the most, horrible things about the war—its effect on civilians. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed or displaced, and this photo does a good job of showing the utter lack of care that the actual militants had for those that had essentially nothing to do with the actual conflict. As Sharon Sliwinski writes, “this war’s ravages are visibly inscribed onto the very bodies of the people whose likeness Haviv captured with his camera.”
This images has mostly been commented on by Westerners. Indeed, it is very hard, if not impossible, to find African or Asian commentary on it. In addition, although it has been displayed in gallery spaces around the world, it is far more prevalent in Western-oriented settings. Interestingly, it has also been displayed in place where it was taken, in galleries such as War Photo Limited in Croatia and Belgrade Gallery in Serbia.
As far as the legacy of the photo, Haviv himself would probably be most important to speak with. Among so many other reasons, part of what makes this image impactful is just how close he was to danger when he snapped the shutter. He was almost a part of the conflict, as he was essentially imbedded with the Serbian army, and saw many of the atrocities that they committed first-hand.
It would also be important to speak with the subjects of other photos he took that survived. Many of the photos Haviv took were made into sort of symbols for the war, and it would be fascinating to see their opinion on that. Oftentimes, they did not actually choose to be photographed, and they did not choose for their own images to take on greater meaning than just representations of themselves.
SOURCES:
http://www.torontophotographyseminar.org/sites/default/files/uploads/SliwinskiPhotoViolence2009.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/jun/17/artsandhumanities.highereducation
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