When Life Gets in the Way of Art – NYTimes.com

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by

Trent
in

When Life Gets in the Way of Art

A photograph or a film stands on its own, independent of its creator — until, perhaps, it is revealed the artist is telling a lie.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/weekinreview/26kennedy.html?_r=1&ref=weekinreview

I once took a picture in 1962 of a very poor black girl in Shelby County, Tennessee, holding a big white doll,” said Bruce Davidson, who is white. “And I didn’t publish it for many years even though it was a powerful image and something I thought told the story. I didn’t put the doll there. I didn’t even say to the little girl, ‘Can you hold it a little higher?’ It was a true moment, but I didn’t know if people would believe it because it almost seemed too good to be true.