VII

Modern. Sleek. New. Those are the first three words that popped into my head when I first entered the VII website.  It was easy to tell this collective gathered a much younger generation of photographers in comparison to Magnum; the web design was more advanced , there was a live twitter feed, they had a real time map, etc. In comparison to the solemn (and almost less ostentatious) Magnum, VII belts out its humanitarian objective–quite literally. In their logo at the top right of their website, VII labels themselves as “A GROUP OF ENGAGED & COMMITTED PHOTOGRAPHERS CONCERNED WITH THE WORLD AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS” in caps lock.

But beyond the initial grandiose, VII’s core objective cannot be ignored. They are a group that truly brings attention to issues that don’t get the attention they deserve.  Tech savvy and modern, VII effectively takes advantage of the visual resources of the 21st century in order to fulfill their humanitarian objectives.

As a testament to their savvy, technological creativity, VII provides an option to view the photographers by photo. While looking through the photos, I was drawn to the photographs of Sarker Protick and Ed Kashi.

I was immediately drawn to Sarker Protick’s work because of an aesthetic attraction to the simplicity and pastel colors of his work. The bright, very pale and cool qualities are captivating. Rather than having a muted feel, Protick’s work holds a mesmerizing quality–mystical and full of magic.

This is most evident in the photos below; one is of an older man and one is of a wheelchair.

In both photos, it is hard not to get lost in the sea of white. The soft light seems to exude beyond the photograph and place you right into the scene of the photo. Rather than eliciting curiosity, the photos keep you afloat in their endless gossamer of enchantment.

Particularly in the photo of the man, once you get past the overpowering light, you begin to notice the details: the grey hat, the door to the right, the white fabric around his neck, the powder on his body, his solemn face. The longer you look the more evident–and almost darker–these details become. Soon, you are more than just drawn to the aesthetic qualities of the photograph, you find yourself coloring the story that the photograph longs to tell.

The photo of the wheelchair contains a bit more color–particularly a light pink-purplish hue that I believe really completes the photo. Without that slight color, I think I would’ve correlated this photo to a sterile hospital setting. But instead, its rosy quality elicits a peacefulness in death–a symbol of a life well lived and a life well parted.

The second photographer I chose was Ed Kashi. The photo that represented him in VII’s catalog of photographers caught my attention because I thought it perfectly embodied what Henri Cartier-Bresson would call “the decisive moment.” 

The perfect jump, the perfect ratio–either Kashi was extremely lucky or this photo shows his utmost talent in capturing the decisive moment. In the midst of turmoil, a young child leaps across a pile of burning materials, symbolizing hope and victory, especially within the younger generation. The child’s lifted right arm adds to this hopeful message and ironically portrays innocence in the midst of corruption and terror.

The second photo of Kashi’s I chose is below.

When looking at this photo, I find myself holding my breath. As if I am there and if I made a sound I would disrupt the moment, the solemn silence. What really amazes me is how he managed to capture this extremely sensitive photo; each facial expression portrays a sadness that you can almost hear–particularly the facial expression of the man of the far right who is comforting the man to his left. The reality and rawness of this photo is what makes it so great.

One more thing I must note about this photo is how translucent the women in the hospital bed looks. Like a ghost, she seems to fade as if to physically portray the loss of those who surround her in the hospital room.