Activism + Photography Resources

A few resources we recommend to get you inspired and considering photography + activism from different angles

BY ALAN BULLEY

THE CRUEL RADIANCE: PHOTOGRAPHY AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Documenting suffering raises hard ethical and political questions for photographers and viewers. Journalism professor Susie Linfield works through some of these questions in three steps: by responding to critics of photography as a documentary medium; by examining ideas of human rights in the context of photographing violence, from the Holocaust to Abu Ghraib; and finally, by anchoring her discussion in the practices of three noted war photographers. We must ask ourselves: Are there photographs that should never be made? And if they are made, how should we respond?

2012, 344 pages $25.00 Paperback / $20.00 Kobo e-book

IMAGINING RESISTANCE: VISUAL CULTURE AND ACTIVISM IN CANADA

Edited by J. Keri Cronin and Kirsty Robertson

This collection of essays contains a wealth of careful reflection on the use of visual art in the service of activism in Canada. From John and Yoko’s “bed-ins” for peace in Montreal and Toronto in the late 1960s, up to social, racial, and economic issues of the 2000s, the volume covers our evolving context well. And, although intended for an academic audience, the presentations are always accessible and the Canadian case studies are both fascinating and helpful. Readers will learn a lot about when art was an effective means of protest and when it was not … and why.

2011, 294 pages $31.99 Paperback Wilfrid Laurier University Press

ONLINE RESOURCES

www.photoethics.org/podcast

There is no shortage of online resources when it comes to activism! The Photo Bill of Rights aims to change the industry by encouraging photographers to reflect on their practice and commit themselves to an ethical code. To challenge and help you sharpen your thinking, the Photo Ethics Podcast presents interviews and discussions on topics from environment to empathy, and everything in between.

www.photobillofrights.com

GORDON PARKS

The Flávio Story + A Choice of Weapons

A pioneer in many respects, Gordon Parks was the first African American to photograph for Life and Vogue magazines and to direct a major Hollywood movie, The Learning Tree. The publication of Gordon Parks: The Flávio Story gives an in-depth account of a 1961 Life photoessay documenting poverty in Brazil and Parks’s years-long work on behalf of a Brazilian boy, his family, and their community. Gordon Parks died in 2006, but his reputation both for involved photojournalism and social action is legendary. The 2021 movie biography A Choice of Weapons is an excellent introduction to the man’s life and work.

Gordon Parks: The Flávio Story 2018, 304 pages €58 Hardback, with free shipping Steidl

A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks Directed by John Maggio, 2021, HBO Documentary Films Available in Canada on Crave