Christopher with his Kitten
This photo makes me unbelievably sad.
Via (OvO)
Mary Ellen Mark first encountered this boy and his parents in Kentucky while working on a story about rural poverty. She learned their address and later went to visit their home. ‘The parents were too shy to come out to be photographed,’ she remembers, ‘but the kids came out.’ The boy’s disheveled hair, dirty face and wary stare all suggest the poverty of his life, but the fierceness with which he clutches his kitten speaks of a determination that transcends his surroundings.
Via (OvO)
I think it's possible that we're viewing the photo thru 2009 eyes--children these days aren't allowed to get dirty, or to play outside all day unsupervised, and that's really sad.
ReplyDeleteImagine yourself in the situation of those parents: a big shot photographer wants a pic of a Real Canadian and the squalid conditions she lives in...it's cold there, right?
What an insult to those parents! They're doing the best they can and some photographer comes along to capture the "suffering". And they didn't come running outside to have their picture literally TAKEN?
Whew...sorry. But I spent lots of wonderful days outside, equally dirty, wearing hand-me-downs, and I didn't know we didn't have much money. But then, that was Minnesota, and only our single aunts had cameras.
Thanks for your comment, Marlys. I think the boy has a sad look on his face and the kitten does too. I found the image to be very evocative. I've seen a lot of child misery in my years as a child protection worker and this photo brought it all back.
ReplyDeleteI know. I'm not denying that there are too many abused and hungry children in the world, and right here in North America...but I look at that child and think, wait, he's not underfed...evidence of his recent meal is there on his face. To me, he looks startled, and mis-trustful of the stranger behind the camera.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm contrasting his look with my own grandkids, too--they're
washed as soon as the last morsel goes in, they haven't been unsupervised for one minute in their lives, and have never felt even mild hunger. I fear for their generation.
This little boy looks like he's allowed to roam, and he deals with his enviroment as he finds it. Yes, they didn't have money, but that doesn't mean he wasn't loved and nurtured, ya know?
Hard to tell. Photography is in the eye of the beholder.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, my first thought was that Christopher looks like he's planning to eat his kitten.
ReplyDeleteHe does have a bit of a lean and hungry look.
ReplyDeleteI have so many neighbors and even cousins whose kids look just like this boy. As many times as it's happened, I still feel a bit weirded out by the reactions of people who assume this is a tragedy or an aberration. Many, many Americans live on the edge, and cannot afford decent haircuts for their kids or veterinary care for kittens.
ReplyDeleteCanadians too, Miss C. My whole working career has focused on children living in poverty. Like those in any economic class some are happy and loved and some are not. The photographer captured a poignancy in this image that struck a chord with me.
ReplyDeleteThese remind me a bit of Dorothea Lange's depression photos.
ReplyDeleteI've never commented on a blog before but I thought a couple of commenters implied that you don't understand poverty. I just wanted to say that anyone who knows you is aware of your passionate commitment to issues of social justice and all you do to advocate for the disadvantaged - a Book Club Friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I don't think anyone was taking a personal shot at me though. Maybe I'm just thick skinned? Which BC buddy are you? Give me a call and we'll have a glass of wine whoever you are.
ReplyDelete