Fascinating take on the Stolen Lollipop scandal that’s erupted between the world of photography and the world of weblogging. Thanks to 3 Quarks Daily for the link.
At issue is a new gallery opening showing photographs of children obviously upset and crying. Several webloggers took umbrage at what they called ‘child abuse’. The photographer and her husband said it was no such thing, it was a case of giving the children a lollipop and taking it away.
My take: unless they have to pose for these photographs daily, I doubt the children will be emotionally scarred from this event. However, I don’t like the photos. I think they’re contrived and overly sentimental and melodramatic. They perfectly reflect the photographer’s stated inspiration, which was so maudlin, it made me gag.
Give me the freshness and honesty of Walker Evans. Any day.
From the article:
In the end, “This is more a story about blogging than about photography,” said Stephen White, formerly a gallery owner and currently a private dealer and collector in Studio City. “It’s about a generation that’s so caught up in itself that everything it says it thinks is significant, even though it’s not saying anything at all.
“People in the photography world, anyone who is sophisticated about photography, knows that this is not offensive,” he said. “Taking away a lollipop is not child abuse. There’s no irreparable harm. I’m just not sure there’s any significance to the photographs, either.”