Steve McCurry – A Review by Laura
Parkinson
Steve McCurry and his series “Home Again” explores
what other people consider their home in different countries and what it means
to them. As a wise man once said, “It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make
it
home” (Edgar Guest, 1916).
The photograph I have chosen from this set was taken
in Russia, and shows an elderly lady in her back garden, with a worn down house
in the foreground and a taller, dark looking building in the background. The
lady looks happy, stretching out to open the gate almost to greet McCurry into
her abode. To me, it shows that no matter what type of conditions some people
live in, they manage to live a carefree and happy lifestyle. The colours draw
me in, colourful and bright possibly indicating at a cheerful atmosphere,
whilst in the distance the sky looks grey and the building dark and tiresome.
I find that McCurry’s way of
working is inspirational to professional and amateur photographers. “He
researches a place before picking up the camera, visiting five to ten villages
in a given country before focusing on the most interesting one. He also rarely
works alone.” (Lightbox, 2013). The sheer dedication McCurry places into each
and every one of his images, each is packed with background research and a well
developed story that McCurry has analysed and learnt before capturing the shot.
He could almost construct a entire novel about the experiences he has had and
what he has learnt. Within his set “Home Again”, he visits a long list of
countries including Ethiopia, Tanzania and India, looking at the conditions
that people live in and the cultural differences that are evident within their
lifestyle. McCurry said in a recent interview “if
you look at the photographers whose work we admire, they’ve found a particular
place or a subject, dug deep into it, and carved out something that’s become
special. And that takes a lot of time and a lot of work…” (DPReview. 2012)
I find this set interesting
but also challenging. The work is well formed, sharp and diverse, but because
of the diverse nature of the piece, I find it hard to draw a link between the
images by simply placing them side-by-side in a plain gallery wall. Naturally,
this can be seen as both a good thing, and a bad thing – his photographs are
diverse and seemingly unrelated on the surface, which allows us to fall deeper
into the research, and exploration that McCurry has conducted. He explores the
famous Edgar Guest poem “Home” in great details, and runs with the quote from
the piece; “It don't make a difference how rich ye get t' be', how much yer
chairs and tables cost, how great the luxury; it ain't home t' ye, though it be
the palace of a king, until somehow yer soul is sort o' wrapped round
everything.” (Edgar Guest, 1916). You cannot call a house a home unless you
have done some living within in, and these people have.
This body of work has not
been shown within a gallery space in an art gallery, his work is shown online
within the other photographs he has taken as part of the venture. Each are
titled with the town and country they are photographed within, each showing the
space that they spend their lives. It really is quite overwhelming seeing these
people live within disheveled houses, when we complain about not having the
latest technology when we already have something similar.
Compared with the other work
that McCurry has produced, such as the famous “Afghan Girl” he photographed in
1984, this work isn’t far from his usual practice. It shows a situation that
might be hidden by the media, a typical take on photojournalism. It shocks us
to the extent of reevaluating our own lives and thinking about our situation
against theirs. McCurry’s work moves people, which is what is so brilliant
about it. Although not usually my type of photography, I admire McCurry’s work
for its ability to educate and enlighten viewers.
References:
· Little, M. (2013). 30 Years, 20
Passports: Untold Stories of Steve McCurry's Photographic Life. Available:
http://lightbox.time.com/2013/08/28/30-years-20-passports-untold-stories-of-steve-mccurrys-photographic-life/#ixzz2oQHC4Mgo.
Last accessed 22nd Dec 2013.
· Guest, E. (1916). Home. Available:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173578. Last accessed 22nd Dec 2013.
· DPReview. (2012). Steve McCurry talks to Wordpress.com about his work, and why
he blogs. Available:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/12/06/steve-mccurry-interview-on-wordpress.
Last accessed 6th Jan 2014
