This move by Lincoln is extremely surprising as he was never a supporter of the war effort and never wanted it to have taken place, so for him to allow a photographer to document something for which he felt shame is unprecedented. Nevertheless, this sealed Brady’s spot in history as the “Father of Photojournalism.”
During the War, he maximized his efforts by employing the help of assistants who went around to the different battlefields and documented the soldiers both living and dead. He opened a gallery in his New York studio called “The Dead of Antietam” and this was the first time the public was able to witness the harsh realities of war. They were at first intrigued, but after the end of the War, the interest faded as people wanted to forget the conflict.
The growing disinterest by the public and the refusal by the government to purchase the plates culminated in the bankruptcy of Brady and his studio. He eventually died poor and in debt in New York City in 1896.
Tragic as this story is, it set a massive precedent for Americans as the interest in war photography grew during both World Wars and interests the public even today. Controversy surrounds this form of journalism as either informative or gruesome. It is an influential aspect of our country’s history as seen in the World Wars and especially the Vietnam War when war photography gave rise to anti-war protests across the country.
War photography may be morbid at times and representative of the darker side of humanity’s inability to live peacefully, but ultimately it informs the public about the facts of war so that they can in turn make their own informed decisions on the matter.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathew_Brady
No comments:
Post a Comment