Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Daily Photographer Post: Kevin Carter


Kevin Carter
(1961-1994)

A prominent South African photojournalist, Kevin Carter was a member of "The Bang-Bang Club", a group of photojournalists dedicated to documenting the racial dilemma of apartheid. Before his work with "The Bang-Bang Club", Carter worked as a sports photographer, and then moved to work for the Johannesburg Star. He is known for his work as the first to capture and photograph public execution by "necklacing"(the setting and burning of a gasoline-soaked tire around a person's neck). Of these images, Carter was quoted as follows: "I was appalled at what I was doing. I was appalled at what I was doing. But then people started talking about those pictures...then I felt that maybe my actions hadn't been all that bad. Being a witness...wasn't...such a bad thing to do."


This photo, of a famine-stricken Sudanese girl, alongside a vulture, won him the Pulitzer Prize. However, along with the photo's fame and acclaim came a great amount of questioning and criticism. Under countless accusations concerning his failure to save the child, Carter took his own life just months later.

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