{"id":42944,"date":"2016-03-31T13:10:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T18:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=42944"},"modified":"2016-03-31T13:10:33","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T18:10:33","slug":"james-nachtwey-visited-ku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2016\/03\/31\/james-nachtwey-visited-ku\/","title":{"rendered":"James Nachtwey Visited KU"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Nachtwey, a renowned war photographer, gave a presentation to KU students and communities in regard to the Common Book Program at 7: 30PM on March 2 in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.<\/p>\n

Nachtwey\u2019s presentation was titled \u201cThe Unvanquished\u201d. He showed a large amount of photographs that he shot and noted the stories behind each picture in chronological order. At the same time, he related his work to Henmingway\u2019s novels, especially the 2015-2016 KU Common Book, \u201cA Farewell to Arms\u201d. In his lecture, he said it is important for the public to be able to view difficult pictures to discover sympathy and compassion. He said problems cannot be solved until they are identified.<\/p>\n

The presentation drew a variety of people, including KU students, faculty and staff, photographers and community members from all around. Katie Pudas, a freshman studying journalism, said two of her journalism professors encouraged her to go to the event, and she thinks Nachtwey gave a great presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore he came, I\u2019ve see a few photos of his in different classes so I knew it was going to be difficult to see, and I would say that was right,\u201d Pudas said. \u201cI was impressed by the narration he gave of the photographs. He did a good job of explaining and putting it into perspective and just helping those of us who haven\u2019t been in those situations understand what it\u2019s like and the importance of the photographs, which I thought was really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pudas said his work amazed her, and she thinks the photographs of his are impactful. She said the images that stuck out the most are about a woman in Somalia, who looks like a skeleton and about children in war zones. She said the presentation not only struck her visually, but also made her reflect.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put stuff in perspective\u2026just how much privilege that we have living where we live and what our daily problems are\u2026\u201d Pudas said, \u201cit helps check yourself almost; we\u2019re really lucky and we need to do what we can to help those people, which I think is the goal why he goes out and photographs these awful things, so people are aware of what\u2019s going on and they are able to help make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pudas also said she agrees with his point that the world ignores issues like this, and she personally thinks these issues is rather like a matter of making a choice of human lives than a matter of making a political choice on whether or not those lives are worth to be saved. She said she also thinks media have to focus on how to prioritize on reporting by adhering to journalism ethics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what he was talking about was really the core of journalism in how there\u2019s a duty to report what\u2019s ethical and giving a voice as in helping things to be seen that are normally overlooked,\u201d Pudas said, \u201cI think that\u2019s why a lot of students in journalism school are in the journalism school, because they really value that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike Pudas, Jeff Jacobsen,Staff photographer for the Kansas Athletic Department andAndrew Hartnett, a student at Johnson County Community College, knew Nachtwey beforehand, and they appreciate the chance of seeing him speak. Jacobsen said he thinks Nachtwey help all photographers and all people to study the history of photography and understand where we came from and where we are going. He\u00a0also said he respects Nachtwey\u2019s work, the ways he accomplishes what he does, and his impacts on the next generation.<\/p>\n

\u201c(What struck me the most is) his commitment to do the very best that he possibly can at whatever expense it takes both physically and mentally,\u201d Jacobsen said. \u201cThe essence that he talked about in all his photographs of getting in close and be there and being a part of what is going on. Too many young photographers don\u2019t understand that and really truly do need to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a photographer, Jacobsen said he feels humbled, but he also realized there\u2019s a need for great photography in all aspects of life, not just in war or conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lessons that you can learn from the way he approaches how he goes about his work and the passion that he brings to it and the conviction in his heart, that\u2019s what all people that pick up a camera should do,\u201d he\u00a0said. \u201cIts not about shooting a quick snapshot, slapping a filter on it on your phone and thinking that you\u2019ve made a piece of art. This is true art.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also a big fan of Nachtwey, Hartnett appreciated that his presentation is rich and detailed, and he said his work leaves him speechless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have plenty of mixed feelings and sense of anger, or sadness or just feeling kind of robbed,\u201d Hartnett said. \u201cYou feel sort of\u2026there\u2019s no word for it\u2026 You can\u2019t explain the type of work like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The images that struck Hartnett the most were the pictures Nachtwey took in Rwanda, especially, the images of \u201ca human skeleton crawling in the feeding center\u201d and \u201cthe guy holding up the white flag in between no-mans land.\u201d Other than the strong visuals, he said he learned a lot on the technical side from Nachtwey\u2019s presentation as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe composition is very stunning,\u201d Hartnett said, \u201cIt\u2019s sophisticated and of course I feel like there\u2019s that element, and there\u2019s just that pure emotional content. There\u2019s the intimacy. It\u2019s how close he is to his subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just like Pudas, Hartnett said Nachtwey\u2019s work has the potential to encourage changes in providing help to the needy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key point that he was making is that great photography, any kind of work of that nature really can affect people and they can cause them to act, because they finally have the knowledge or a stimuli to act on from that. I feel like that\u2019s the most powerful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carol Holstead, the Associate Professor in the School of Journalism said it was her who came up with the idea of inviting Nachtwey to talk to the KU community.<\/p>\n

\"James
James Nachtwey, Bosnia, 1993-1994<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew James Nachtwey, and I\u2019ve admired him for so long,\u201d Holstead said. \u201cI and many many other people, especially photographers are in awe of him, and then I just said, \u2018yeah, we should invite James Nachtwey. He\u2019s this incredibly amazing war photographer and has done so much for humanitarian causes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Holstead said despite the change of schedule, they still had a great turnout. According to Holstead, except the KU community, many photographers came to Lawrence, and the journalism school held a reception for those photographers to meet James Nachtwey.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as he walked in the room, it was like fans; it was like this little clutch of students or something who are just in awe of him,\u201d Holstead said. \u201cI looked over at one point, and they were just all standing around, including this one Pulitzer Prize winner, but they were\u2026 gazing upon him. They didn\u2019t even know what to say to him, like they were talking to their idol. It was really charming and it was really funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holstead also said the presentation really drew out some people who deeply know his work and feel magnified in his presence. She said there were people coming from Philadelphia and Omaha Newspaper.<\/p>\n

According to Holstead, Nachtwey showed more than she had expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew he would show work and I knew it would be beautiful, but what I wasn\u2019t expecting was the depth of his presentation and the very deep thoughtful way he connected A Farewell to Arms<\/em> to the photographs he had taken, which made that presentation work on so many levels for students, because it shows how his work is the same but also different from Hemingway\u2019s work and perspective,\u201d Holstead said.<\/p>\n

Holstead also said she appreciates his hard work on preparing for the presentation to make it more meaningful. She said the most difficult images for her to look at are the ones involving children.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause children are innocent victims and they\u2019re like animals,\u201d she\u00a0said, \u201cYou can\u2019t really explain to them what\u2019s happening to them and why. So those pictures of children who are being warehoused in Romania just ruined me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holstead also these images make her feel helpless in that she is unable to do anything about their situations. However, she thinks that his work might energize the next generation in encouraging journalism students to have a humanitarian focus or work for non-profits, or in general, just becoming more sympathetic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a way to sensitize people to the pain and suffering that we want to turn away from because it\u2019s just easier not to think about it,\u201d she\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

According to Holstead, Nachtwey produces both moving content and great quality in his photographs. Furthermore, she thinks the affect of his work has substantial influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are human beings and the things we see can affect us deeply and we forget. We move on,\u201d Holstead said, \u201cBut I think that will lodge it somewhere in people\u2019s brains, so wherever they are, they see someone struggling, they may think about in their own community people who don\u2019t have enough food or need some kind of care.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Nachtwey, a renowned war photographer, gave a presentation to KU students and communities in regard to the Common Book Program at 7: 30PM on March 2 in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Nachtwey\u2019s presentation was titled \u201cThe Unvanquished\u201d. He showed a large amount of photographs that he shot and noted the stories behind each picture in chronological order. At the same time, he related his work to Henmingway\u2019s novels, especially the 2015-2016 KU Common Book, \u201cA Farewell to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8092,"featured_media":44065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3225,3224,15],"tags":[4586,4588,4587],"class_list":["post-42944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-culture-events","category-culture-interviews","category-featured-on-kjhk","tag-james-nachtwey","tag-photography","tag-school-of-journalism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Scan-12.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}