Archive for January 2009
Meeting Palden Gyatso. Ex-political prisonier in Tibet.
Part of a reportage about Tibetan Refugees living in India.
«Palden Gyatso was born in the Tibetan village of Panam in 1933. This place is located at Nyangchu river between Gyantse and Shigatse. In 1943 he entered Gadong monastery as a novice monk. During the Chinese invasion he was nominated as a fully ordained monk of the Gelug school. Later he studied in Drepung monastery which is close to Lhasa.
After the 1959 Tibetan uprising, Palden Gyatso was arrested by Chinese officials. He spent the following 33 years in different Chinese prisons and labour camps. He was forced to participate in barbarous reeducation classes and was brutally tortured, leading to irreversible physical damage. During this time, he continued to abide by the Dharma (Buddha’s teachings).
1992 Palden Gyatso was released. He escaped to Dharamsala in India, the place of the Tibetan exile government. There he wrote his autobiography Fire Under The Snow in Tibetan, since translated into many other languages and the subject of a forthcoming film.
During his following visits in America and Europe he became politically active as an opponent of the Chinese occupation in Tibet and as a witness of many years under Chinese confinement. In 1995 he was heard by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
These days Palden Gyatso is living in Dharamsala and following his Buddhist studies.»
Informations from Wikipedia
Palden Gyatso (born 1933 in Panam, Tibet) is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who was born in Tibet in 1933. During the Chinese invasion of Tibet he was arrested for protesting and spent 33 years in Chinese prisons and labor camps, where he was extensively tortured. After his release in 1992 he fled to Dharamsala, (North India) in exile. He is still a practicing monk and political activist, traveling the world publicizing the cause of Tibet. / 2008.11 Dharamsala, India / Photo: Renaud Philippe
London’s Barbican War Photography events
The famous Barbican in London hosted Julian Stallabrass, Curator for the Brighton Photo Biennial and Reader in Art History at the Courtauld Institute on January the 15th. Prof Stallabrass discussed “how has the making and circulation of digital images of war affected the way that we see them and the way in which they are used” using comparative examples of Vietnam and Iraq war images.
Very compelling talk indeed. While many can remember Nick Ut’s dramatic Vietnamese Girl image, few could mention A precise photo of the war in Iraq that would be considered ‘famous’ or ‘common knowledge’ of this ongoing War. This may potentially push photojournalists to take or look for more intensely graphic images, in a fast paced, streaming, online and embedded photojournalism experience.
On a similar note, the Barbican Center is presenting until the 25th of January: ” This is War! Robert Capa at Work. Gerda Taro and On the Subject of War“. It is a very interesting review of Friedmann’s, a.k.a. Capa’s work, in different segment of his career, from Spain to China. His close work and intimate incursion in Tchang Kaï-chek and his wife lives offer a glimpse at one of China/Taiwan’s decisive leader. Gerda Taro’s work is presented for the first tim in the UK and is a must see in my opinion. While shooting alongside Capa, her work is, in my view, strikingly different. The use of square, larger format film as well as her particular composition and extensive play with, depth of filed, create a perspective unique to her production.
If you are in London, I sure hope you will have the chance to see it.
Le Cercle hosts Stigmat Photo in Quebec City
Le Cercle in Quebec City hosted Stigmat Photo with great success last November for a series of multimedia projections of the agency’s work. Conferences and presentation of the work were given by Philippe Ruel and Larry Rochefort, co-founders of the Agency.
Stigmat Photo In Paris 2008
After a successful time in Perpignan for the 20th Visa pour l’Image photojournalism festival in 2008, Stigmat Photo along with other young photojournalism collectives and individuals joined the ‘Destinations sans Distinctions‘ exhibition in Paris during the Month of Photography. Visit http://www.outofparisphoto.org/ for more information on future exhibits
Far East Fashion Presented in Paris
Stigmat Photo Presents in Paris
