“ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And you’ve written that you used to think of yourself as a war photographer, but now you think of yourself as an anti-war photographer. Explain the distinction.
JAMES NACHTWEY: At the very beginning, I think I was still interested in the dynamics of war itself as a kind of fascinating study. And it evolved into more of a mission whereby I think to present pictures of situations that are unacceptable in human terms became a form of protest. So I found that my pictures were actually specifically trying to mitigate against the war itself.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You’ve written that you used to look for the moment of highest drama, a picture that would tell the whole story in one image, but in this book, here, for example, you’ve got consecutive pictures, almost like… it’s almost cinematic. Explain what you’re doing here.
JAMES NACHTWEY: I became interested in portraying reality in a kind of cinematic way through a variety of moments and angles so that the viewer could piece together a reality that was in a way beyond the presence of the photographer, that had a relentlessness and ongoing quality to it — that became a reality beyond my own pictures.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And you’ve written that all your pictures are a combination of what is inside of you and what is in front of you. Explain that, too.
JAMES NACHTWEY: It’s a confluence. I don’t believe there’s any such thing as objective reality. It’s only reality as we experience it. And whatever emotions I’m feeling, for whatever reason I’m feeling them, get channeled into my work. If I’m feeling outraged, grief, disbelief, frustration, sympathy, that gets channeled through me and into my pictures and hopefully transmitted to the viewer.”
Online NewsHour: Conversation with James Nachtwey- May 16, 2000
Posted 2 years ago
