"Nonstop imagery is our surround, but when it comes to remembering, the photograph has the deeper bite....
In an era of information overload, the photograph..is like a quotation, or a maxim or proverb."
(Susan Sontag: Regarding the Pain of Others 2003)

24 March, 2008

Philip Jones Griffiths (1936-2008)

The Vietnam War was a crucial watershed for photo-journalism. Among the distinctive breed of courageous photographers who brought the scale of the war's atrocities and devastation to the public consciousness was Welsh-born Philip Jones Griffiths, who has died of cancer at the age of 72. His 1971 book Vietnam Inc. set a high bar for the myriad volumes which would follow. Jones Griffiths became a regular contributor to the Observer, McCalls, the Sunday Times and New York Times magazines. He was a key member of Magnum where he served as president from 1980 to 1985. Martin Wollacott. veteran foreign correspondent of the Guardian, contributes a perceptive insight to the obituary attached.