BY Richard B. Woodward
Photographers who produce spectacular images of Detroit, Chernobyl, and other ravaged areas have sparked disagreements whether they are exploiting others? misfortune?or just covering the bad news
Mitch Epstein?s Biloxi, Mississippi 2005 vividly represents the inversion of normalcy that is Hurricane Katrina?s legacy.?BLACK RIVER PRODUCTIONS, LTD. AND MITCH EPSTEIN/COURTESY SIKKEMA JENKINS & CO., NEW YORK.
?RUIN PORN? is a phrase so immature and gawky it isn?t sure how seriously to take itself. Like its linguistic relatives ?animal porn,? ?shoe porn,? ?food porn,? ?real estate porn,? and ?fill-in-the-blank porn,? it?s a smirking neologism that may or may not aspire to be a social critique. Continue reading “Disaster Photography: When is Documentary Exploitation?”