Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/21
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In response to the Adams/Weston/HC-B messages, Walt (below) writes, in
part, about how in the United States "we WERE isolated politically,
economically, and socially from Europe and Asia" and that "Many
preferred/prefer it that way," and of the not-untypically hard-working
and circumscribed lives of his parents and himself when he was growing
up, and of his mother and how "she'll die before she realizes she was
'ignorant.'" But he asks, "Is she?"---as "We all have our 'reality.'"
Yes, we all have our necessarily limited realities, because the world
is too vast and varied a place for anyone to know or to do everything;
we all must make choices; and so whatever we may know and however much
we may do, we all have our inevitably far more pervasive ignorances
and inexperiences; and it's humbling to realize that fact. I almost
instinctively dislike this Adams/Cartier-Bresson antagonism, because
despite their differences (and perhaps in part because of them), they
are perhaps my favorite photographers. They were different people,
lived in different places, had different experiences, and as a result
accomplished different things; but rather than hold those differences
to prove one superior to the other, I suggest we just appreciate them
both instead as supplementary to each other.
Art Peterson
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Adams, Weston, and... Welch?
Author: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us at Internet
Date: 3/21/99 9:44 AM
This has been an interesting thread.....I have to add my
.02 (sorry).....I'd like to expand on Eric's statements...
Our US society has grown into a "world" society during my
short lifetime.....we WERE isolated politically, economically,
and socially from Europe and Asia until the explosion in
communications and travel that has occurred in MY lifetime....
Many preferred/prefer it that way.
I grew up in a "working" middle class household.....neither
parent was college educated, although they were literate
and capable....my mom (still alive) lived her life in a
300 mile radius....her reality was that of a housewife (happy,
I can only presume) living in a tidy brick house with her
extended family within easy driving distance....in her
ever-present Oldsmobile......."Technology" to her is represented
by the indoor plumbing, electric lights, clock radio tuned to
the cooking or gardening station, TV (FINALLY color, beginning
a couple years back) also tuned to the "martha stewart" shows...
Devoutly Catholic, she works the "Bazaar" and the "Bake" sale,
and makes cute (!) little fuzzy things to sell at the Knights of
Columbus sales......
Wars were started by "bad" people, and "won" by "our boys", thereby
insulating her from any knowledge of worldly (and usually "godless")
politics.....she has/will vote a straight democratic ticket, because
my ol' man was a union member, and he told her to.......his
boss was a democrat, and he died thinking that the "boss" would
somehow know if he voted for a republican, anyway, that's the
party of the "rich".....certainly nothing in it for "our" people...
as for the political scandals of the 90s? -- that's easily
explained by a lack of "upbringing" and lack of 'god"......
She worked/works hard, and if someone else is hungry or lacking,
it's usually the fault of laziness or alcohol or other "frivolous"
activity...wasting resources that should be put in to the home and
family....
Luckily, she'll die before she realizes she was "ignorant"....
Is she?
We all have our 'reality'.....those living in northern California
50 years ago had theirs.....am I better off being informed?....
having gone to college, keeping up with 'worldly' affairs?....
Whose lies/politics/science should I believe THIS year?........
Dupont/Dow chemical/RJ Reynolds/GM.....are they the enemy? or am
I? What about HCB? my mom says he's a frenchman, ya know.......
Walt