PhotoEphemera: Odds and Ends

I've been accused of not being contemporary often enough, so here are some random cards from the last couple of years.

One of the many failings of our handling of the war in Iraq, was the assumption that there would be no State-side repercussions, especially if we hid the aftereffects of combat. At first we saw nothing. Then, the only time we saw the wounded, was if George Bush was in the picture, at a hospital, greeting someone. We rarely saw the dead, rarely saw funerals (out of "respect for the families") and rarely saw the walking wounded.

I found this insulting, both to me and to those who "gave the last full measure of devotion" to their country. If the cause is just, the cost should be borne by all. That includes facing the effects of war. The fact is, war, even modern war, is, and will always be, horrific. Munitions are designed to cause terrible damage to the body, rendering it incapable of continuing the fight. If we're going to wage war, we, as a society, need to acknowledge the costs and shoulder them equally.

Which is a long way of getting to Nina Berman's series of portraits called "Purple Hearts." The work is very good: achingly poignant, unfailingly honest, hauntingly surreal. It got good exposure--at least on the east coast there a number of shows, the work appeared to various purposes in many publications and the book was well received. And it deserved all of that and more.

For a show on Staten Island:

Oversized Postcard (8 x 6 inches)

I've always found it difficult to believe that Weinberger's portraits of this odd fashion subculture wasn't just purely set-up. But then I remember me as a teenager...