Susan Meiselas

Susan Meiselas, "Sandinistas at the walls of the National Guard headquarters," Esteli, Nicaragua, 1979:


Speaking of pioneers in color photography, Susan Meiselas's photographs of the 1978-79 Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua were some of the earliest work of the "photojournalism" genre done in color. I was not familiar with these images until recently, when I went to Meisela's retrospective at the International Center for Photography.

There are so many iconic images that Meiselas took during that short period. I'm sure this one is familiar to many:


Taken at a hillside location that the National Guard used to dump many of their victims.

The next one shows a rebel in a common folk mask, used by the Sandinistas to conceal their identity:


This is of a woman fleeing aerial bombing near Esteli:


Anyway, it's a terrific show that not only displays compelling imagery from all facets of Meisela's career, but raises and explores fundamental questions -- ethical and philosophical -- about the photo-documentary genre, the use of such photographic imagery by contemporary culture (media culture as well as "art" culture), and the nature of the photographic practice itself. Despite the NY Times's lukewarm review, it's a must-see for anyone interested in photography. Whatever one may feel about Meiselas's role vis-a-vis her subjects, or about the Sandinistas generally, there's no denying that she's one helluva photographer.

I bought (and finally read through) the re-issued book, "Nicaragua 1978-79", and recommend it as well. It even comes with a DVD containing two documentaries about that project, made years later.

ADDENDUM: For a thorough and sympathetic review of this exhibition (and Meiselas's approach as a whole), one that aptly criticizes the NYTimes' review as "facile", see this article by Miriam Grotte.