Here are my photos from the demonstration for Azerbaijani editor Eynulla Fatullyev.
Update 7th June 2010
Here is a video of the same event, courtesy of Amnesty:
Tag: Visual (Page 5 of 16)
Reviews, comments and thoughts on visual arts and graphic design
As flights resume following the Eyjafjallajokull erruption, Europe is left counting the economic cost of a genuine, real-life, bona fide Act of God. I was at the London Book Fair this week, with English PEN, and saw first hand the effect that cancelled travel plans can have on commerce, and indeed, the free flow of ideas. Below is my Flickr photoset ‘Fallout’, showing the forlorn empty trade stands at the fair.
I just saw this photo on a BBC News report on healthcare reform.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and senior staff, react in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, as the House passes the health care reform bill, March 21, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
It was pulled from the White House’s official Flickr stream, and I think it may soon become emblematic. It will be used to illustrate a huge victory, substantial but also symbolic, of the Obama Administration. The President looks chuffed but not ecstatic. A job well done, but you sense he will be turning to his staff to ask, “what’s next?”
Maybe that’s not what happened in reality. Maybe the President went mental and stood on a table with a knife, lording over his defeated enemies. But we don’t see that photo. Significantly, we only have this one image of the celebrations, so that is what will persist of that moment – its a clever bit of subtle PR. Politicians have been shaping the narrative with flattering images for centuries, of course. But its always interesting to watch it happen in real time.
There is a free speech element to the latest celebrity sex-scandal. John Terry sought a ‘super-injunction’ against publishing details of his affair, that also prevented the media from reporting the fact of the injunction itself. On the Index on Censorship blog, Padraig Reidy asks whether the lifting of this injunction by Justice Tugendhat could signal the end of the ‘super-injunction’ as an effective tool in the lawyer’s arsenal. The #Trafigura affair showed how such injunctions can be circumvented by beligerent members of society.
As an aside, I think ‘super-injunction’ is a misnomer. Surely an injunction that prevents discussion of itself should be a ‘meta-injunction’ or maybe an ‘auto-injunction’? Responses from linguists would be welcome.
Why the outrage?
The opprobrium directed at John Terry mirrors that experienced by Tiger Woods, who last month was exposed as having a penchant for sex with strippers and lap-dancers. In both cases, the chat has centred around the sponsorship deals the men have secured with various brands, and the inevitable loss of these contracts once their philandering has been exposed. The logic is that these sportsmen are paid because they represent wholesome family values. When it becomes known that they do not, actually, live up to those values, their worth as the face of the brand is diminished.
How does this compare to the glamourous film stars, predominantly but not exclusively female, who are paid to advertise beauty products? We all know that when they appear in display adverts, they are heavily photoshopped. Their smooth skin, supple necks and firms thighs are actually complete lies. Why no outrage and heamoraging of sponsorship deals, when Heat magazine reveals they have saggy bits?
Neda Agha-Soltan, martyr of the 2009 uprisings
Me, earlier:
And as for Twibbons? This innovation seems to me to be a hugely reductive exercise, shrinking political debate to a space 100 pixels wide.
I can’t really let this stand without relaying an exchange I had a couple of weeks ago.
Interesting: now @doctorow has changed his avatar, only one of my followers retains a green #IranElection picture.
– yrstrly, 4th Dec, 7pm:
SHAME! Go GREEN Again! http://iran.greenthumbnails.com/
@JoanneMichele, 7:03pm
Thing is @JoanneMichele @lissnup I’m not sure it matters. Would the green avatar thing raise MORE awareness on Twitter now? I doubt it.
– Yrstrly, 7:45pm
when it’s a rough day & I look at my tweetdeck & its filled w/ green …it matters @lissnup
– @JoanneMichele, 8:14pm
It really matters. So many ppl in Iran see Twitter, see green avatars, draw comfort & strength #Iranelection
– @lissnup 8:15pm
So, let’s not underestimate the power of solidarity as a campaign weapon. If we are reluctant to actually take to the rooftops and shout, then there is some virtue in the little gestures that pep up those on the front line.
I think this was a central purpose of 64forSuu.org too. Yes, it was “all about the hashtag” but we hope the outpouring of solidarity would have provided some comfort during a particularly dark moment.