vuk_vuksanovic

Several of you are suggesting that a discussion of subject matter with this picture is somehow irrelevant to its merit. I can definitely see how that could be true in many other photographic circumstances, but in this case, the impact of the shot depends almost entirely on the meaning of the wall. Just imagine if it were some big electronic billboard listing stock prices or something even more banal. If stripped of history and meaning, the formal aspects amount to little more than a very dull and uninteresting image, one that would never have come close to earning the prestigious "picture of the week" status. Since the ideas make (or break) this photo, it is entirely fair to discuss them. I have also been very explicit in delineating the connection between meaning and artistic value of the photograph, so I don't feel it's at all fair to dismiss my comments as tangential or off-topic. The following remark illustrates quite well what I was trying to get across about the incredibly offensive sentimental-but-not-too-disturbing (real war disturbing) fairy tale spin that the marketing people behind this wall achieved with their "capitalist realism" art:

"I for one would appreciate it if those of you who have comments on the rightness or wrongness of war would privately e-mail each other. The comments spoiled my usually pleasant visit to Photo.net."

My day has been spoiled by the reminder that the world is filled with people capable of inhuman comments like this. (Apologies to Irene if she was simply being sarcastic in an extreme Monty Python way.)

Mark,

I did not intend to imply that Philip made the selection, though I admit my clumsy phrasing seems to imply it. I was merely referring to him as the one who presents these photos to us and, presumably, has some editorial control over the whole thing.

As for your other comments, I think you need to read my posting(s) a little more carefully. I am not questioning anyone's right to feel what they feel or even the right to take and display photographs like this. My point was to argue against the artistic merit of the picture. This monument is fundamentally a public relations exercise by a morally bankrupt government tying to put a nationalistic, deceptive spin on the war (very clever though, I must confess) and appease a certain amount of resentment that had grown over previous neglect of the matter. It's essentially in the same class as Soviet socialist realism and I apply the same standards of contempt. The photograph (which is hardly neutral, Samuel) not only swallows the hook, line and sinker but makes a go for the fishing rod too by exaggerating the chin-stroking sentimentalism. The unpleasant business of an unprovoked war that the commemorated individuals were engaged in when killed in self-defense is conveniently (and altogether) ignored. As a result, those who understand the history more clearly may tend to find the photo to be in very poor taste.

I suspect Philip imagined these sorts of political or moral "questions" when he described why the photo was selected, rather than a debate over the best possible lens/film/aperture for rainy days and reflections from wet granite.

First off, let me make clear my awareness that this is not quite the place for political discussions, yet the brief rationale Philip Greenspun presents behind the selection of our current "photo of the week" invites precisely this sort of analysis, as Matthew Francey has pointed out above. I also wish to reiterate, once more, that I feel tremendous sympathy for those who lost friends and relatives in this war. My problem is with the government behind it (plus many other wars since then) and, for our purposes, the monument--consequently, the same goes for any artistic representation of the wall that does not question its existence or design. What is the lesson America is to learn from it? I'm not sure to what extent the monument has shaped current U.S. cultural understanding of the Vietnam War, but it does seem to mirror it very well (no pun intended): the tragedy wasn't the misguided aggression against a country far away that posed no immediate threat, but the fact that so many of "our boys" died in the effort. As history has verified, all that seems to have been learned is to make sure you get others to carry your killing for you or to do it yourself only with bombs from high above and the comfort of an invincible technology.

I am sure Philip Greenspun, who seems to be a very good-natured person, did not intend to offend anyone with this selection, but it's worth considering the fact that photonet is an international entity. Pretty, sentimental pictures of military monuments from a country that has lead the world in war-mongering for over half a century and continues to unjustly attack so many nations may not go over as well here as in Massachusetts

Philip wrote: Those of us who lost friends and relatives in Vietnam find this image haunting, and it brings to mind many memories and questions

This may all seem quite touching on the surface, but you may want to consider the sentiment and its public display in the context of the millions of victims who have suffered at the hands of American post-WW2 militarism. The overarching aesthetic and theme of the picture is primarily about a dreary, melancholic day in a dreary, melancholic setting, with no real message beyond that. Now imagine similar photographic treatment of a comparable Nazi war monument? Of course I can sympathise with people who lost family members, but when those relatives were part of such tremendously evil campaigns that hurt so many more others, I feel the grief should be discrete and private. I suppose it all begins with the disturbing fact that the Vietnam War Memorial itself, as it has been designed, has practically nothing about it which conveys the nation's shame. I often question whether or not the nation actually feels any, especially as the U.S. has continued to go on bombing innocent people right into this new millennium.

Claire,

Wonderful sense of mystery and profound, haunting emotion. As a work of art, your shot is better than almost every "photo of the week" I have seen here, although I suspect the Velvia flower and sunset crowd will miss the point completely.

Excellent photograph. It has both aesthetic balance and meaning.