about Brian Palmer (US/Singapore): I was born to two school teachers in New York, in the unfashionable borough of Queens.
career highlights: I began my journalism career as a fact checker at a progressive New York weekly newspaper called The Village Voice. That's where I learned that talent and eloquence are important, but that accuracy, integrity, and compassion form the foundation of any and all significant journalism and documentary work.
From the Voice, I moved to a mainstream news magazine called US News & World Report. I served first as a photographer in Washington DC, then switched to the writing side. I was US News' Beijing Bureau Chief from 1996-1998. I returned to the States and found myself still working in mainstream, corporate journalism, at Fortune magazine and then at CNN as a correspondent. I left that perch in 2002 to tell my own stories on my own terms. My video documentary on Iraq, Full Disclosure, which I completed late 2009, was my first major independent project. The documentary, for which I received a Ford Foundation grant, was selected to screen at Montana's Big Sky Documentary Film Festival this February.
which creative people, places and things on your radar right now?
people: Right now, I'm following the work of a prolific and courageous friend and mentor, Shahidul Alam. Today, 22 March 2010, his exhibition about extrajudicial killings by a much-feared paramilitary unit opens in Dhaka. Until Alam, few inside Bangladesh have touched the topic of "crossfire" killings by the Rapid Action Battalion, in which suspected "criminals" and "terrorists" wind up dead under suspicious circumstances. This is a very bold, important, and dangerous thing to do, but he has done it despite fears that he may face pressure not to open.
For several years, I have been following the photography/careers of Donna DeCesare and Nina Berman since my days as a street photographer with them in NYC. Both have been consistently committed to their subjects and not wrapped up in the naked ambition of so many of our colleagues. And their work is great, too. They are inspirations and role models.
what’s your favourite daydream? I spent the last few weeks in India, so my daydream was to be sitting in a very quiet place, sipping an excellent cup of coffee, and writing something brilliant.
what was the last rule you broke? Hmm. The last rule I broke? Perhaps more important is the last rule I followed. "No Photography Inside" signs were posted outside a lovely monastery in Pelling, in India's Sikkim State. As a very young and terribly ambitious photographer (see above) I might have snuck a photo of the frescoes and statuary. But I didn't. As I have gotten older, my perspective on the profession, the medium of documentary has broadened. It should be, fundamentally, a collaborative and respectful endeavor that builds understanding and community. It should not be destructive or needlessly acquisitive--neocolonial might be another way to put it. That's not to say that our work can't be adversarial. It should be when confronting injustice and destructive, powerful people and institutions. But there's no need to be adversarial with regular folk. They have a right to protect how they and their cultures are represented. So, rule broken? I'll get back to you on that one.
if you could ask a question of someone you respect, who and what would you ask?
Nelson Mandela: "How did you choose to negotiate and reconcile with the leaders of the apartheid regime when you could have booted them from South Africa?"
The "why" is easy: to do otherwise, to launch a war of retribution, would have resulted in countless deaths and crippled the new nation's ability to survive. The "how," though, is essential to understanding how morality and, frankly, love guided him, even after brutalization and dehumanization by those with whom he made peace. Such humanity is pure inspiration to me, as much as I fail to live up to his example.
[NOTE: Brian was artist-in-residence for one month at Objectifs, Singapore in March 2010. He ran workshops ('An Introduction to Documentary Photography' - 15 & 17 April 2010) and a seminar on 23 March 2010 entitled, 'The Future of Documentary Photography'.]
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it