Congo+Women

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**Lynsey Addario** is a photojournalist based in Istanbul, Turkey, where she photographs for National Geographic, The New York Times, The NYT Magazine, Time and Fortune, among other publications. Addario began photographing professionally in 1996, with no professional photographic training or studies, for The Buenos Aires Herald in Argentina. She worked there over the course of one year before returning to New York. In 1997, she began freelancing for the the Associated Press, where she became a consistent contributor for three years. Throughout her time in New York, Addario completed several overseas self-assignments, with Cuba as her focus. In 1997, she traveled to Havana, Cuba, to work on a series of photo essays focused on the influence of capitalism on the young generation of Cubans. She returned to Havana in 1998 for the Pope’s visit, and every year thereafter until 2002 in order to document life under one of the last communist regimes.

**Marcus Bleasdale** has spent more than seven years covering the brutal conflict within the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). His work has been published in the book __One Hundred Years of Darkness__, which has been recognized as one of the best photojournalism books of 2002 by Photo District News (PDN) in the U.S.



A co-founder of VII Photo Agency, Haviv’s work is published by top magazines worldwide, including: Fortune, The New York Times Magazine, Time, Vanity Fair, Paris Match and Stern. He has published two critically acclaimed collections of his photography, __Blood and Honey: A Balkan War Journal__ and __Afghanistan: On the Road to Kabul__. He has also has contributed his wide-ranging body of work to several other books.
 * Ron Haviv** is an award-winning photojournalist that has produced some of the most important images of conflict and other humanitarian crises making headlines around the world since the end of the Cold War.

James Nachtwey ** grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College, where he studied Art History and Political Science (1966 to 1970). Images from the Vietnam War and the American Civil Rights Movement had a powerful effect on him and were instrumental in his decision to become a photographer. While teaching himself photography, he was an apprentice news film editor and a truck driver, and he has also worked aboard ships in the Merchant Marine. In 1976 he started work as a newspaper photographer in New Mexico, and in 1980, he moved to New York to begin a career as a freelance magazine photographer. His first foreign assignment was covering civil strife in Northern Ireland in 1981 during the IRA hunger strike. Since then, Nachtwey has devoted himself to documenting wars, conflicts and critical social issues. He has worked on extensive photographic essays in El Salvador; Nicaragua; Guatemala; Lebanon; the West Bank and Gaza, Israel; Indonesia; Thailand; India; Sri Lanka, Afghanistan; the Philippines; South Korea; Somalia; Sudan; Rwanda; South Africa; Russia; Bosnia; Chechnya; Kosovo; Romania; Brazil; Iraq and the United States. **

Ryan Brooks Visual Culture Manifesto 1. Art can be done on any surface 2. Art can imitate life 3. Life imitates art 4. Places that people can see are good places to conduct art 5. Sometimes pictures are easier to read than words, sometimes vice versa 6. It is good to inform 7. Humor helps with difficult ideas 8. Wit should not be without depth 9. Public space is space for the public 10. Efficiency is key 11. Simplicity is not so simple

Artist selected: Banksy

Ryan Brooks Final Installation I have chosen the artist “Banksy” for my final installation. Banksy is a pseudonym for the British street artist infamous for his controversial stencils and art “vandalism”. He is recognized in context with the rise of street artists like Shepard Fairey. He has recently been featured in the movie/documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, a film that explores the journey of videographer and now artist Mr. Brainwash, or MBW as he follows street artists and captures their adventures. Banksy has received worldwide recognition, in which his art has received public attention in major media outlets as well as substantial selling power in fine art auctions. His works are known for their wit, stencil style, framing, placement, and cultural criticism. __Critical / Theoretical Value__ The meaning of Banksy’s work can be easily conveyed due its use of iconic imagery and literal phrasings. Not just visually, meaning can be found in Banksy’s guerrilla like execution, in placing his stencils on public property in highly visable locations, as well as two dimensionally manipulating those surfaces as part of the piece’s concept. Most notably are Banksy’s stencils he pasted onto the wall at the Gaza Strip in Israel. These pieces show breaks in the wall looking upon paradise beaches, cut out directions and children. Banksy’s pieces are mostly done in black and white, though many, like the Gaza Strip piece, are in color. They are prepared first as stencils to be pasted, then posted on selected surfaces in secrecy. One of his signature pieces are of a rat character, usually with a paint brush or some tool, along with a phrase or question. This could very well be his most blatant homage to the artist Blek Le Rat. Other animals, as well as children, police figures, military and SWAT personnel are constant figures to be considered metaphorical. Most pieces offer a highly conceptual worldly political statement often with some type of ironic twist, for example a police officer being padded down by a little girl. Banksy creates an audible scene in his stencils, as the subjects have multiple different points of gaze. There is always a sense of attention, whether engaging the viewer directly, framed as being caught in action, or being in action with the surface. His stencils are highly detailed for its medium, and they produce an older, more archaic visual style, especially in comparison to the variety of street art styles that exist. Other examples of surface manipulation come in “vandalism” of art galleries. Banksy released a video in which he was shown placing his own pieces into the British Museum. He has also violated zoos, Disneyland, and other public property, like Britain’s classic telephone booths. Banksy’s exhibition in Britain’s Bristol Museum includes new mediums for Banksy, many sculptures and other moving three dimensional scenes, still in critique of many corporate and political forces that plague today’s people. __Production Value__ Banksy is certainly not a vagabond with a spray can. His works take time to develop and money to burn. Especially for his latest exhibit, which might be his most expensive project to date. Banksy has travelled around the world posting his stencils. Just like any artist who needs time to develop their ideas and trial them before execution, Banksy most likely requires more funding in order to project his artistry without having his identity known. He has also had other exhibits before, many of them including three dimensional objects and even living animals. The costs of these projects require substantial time and funding, as well as a stash of money set aside for bail in the event that he is caught in his excursions. Banksy appears to have little constraints, as he is able to get into many high surveillance areas, however there are definitely places he cannot get into. Common mediums like canvases are not as commanding as public property and objects are to him. Time is a factor in his process, which can be alleviated by the pre-constructed stencils. They are manufactured quickly and put on surfaces quickly. The artist plays in the most direct role of this process, in both the creation and presentation of his work. He works with few others in presentation, possibly has even assembled a larger crew for his latest Bristol gallery, and also has a manager to publicize his work. For Banksy, skill in artistic technicality, depth of education, efficiency, and location of work are important. His political messages come across so strongly because of his simple and well detailed icons, often on top of highly visible surfaces. __Market Value__ Banksy’s reputation has jumped into the upper elite class of art buyers and dealers. Banksy is no doubtedly supported by these large financial transactions. Market values are set today by that upper class of wealthy “connoisseurs”, who judge art mostly on the social status of potential buyers. The inflated nature of art’s monetary value has been in part due to the lack of mass reproduction, and in part due to the hypocrisy of the buyers in this market, as well as the inherit nature of art objects as anthropological artifacts, valued as timeless and socially important pieces, due to the inability to mass reproduce such objects. With images, it is easy to reproduce using today’s technology, even many three dimensional objects can be reproduced as well, however many are not due to the artist’s financial and artistic intentions. The artist should never have to be part of the financial process as long as the artists cares or doesn’t care. Obviously the artist should be compensated for their work, but not necessarily, for many of Banksy’s works are done without commission and are ephemeral. Banksy however can very well support his craft, which is the intention of many artists, for even artists must eat. If the artist is a financial artist as well, then their role in the financial process might be important.

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