Stanley Greene - Black Passport
Foam Press release | 26 October 2011
16 December 2011 - 5 February 2012
Foam presents Black Passport, a project by and about the
American conflict photographer Stanley Greene (New York, 1949).
Black Passport shows photos of conflicts and disasters combined
with photos of Greene's private life. The result is a
revealing portrait of a photographer who is addicted to the
adrenaline rush of being on the move, but at the same time realises
the sacrifices he makes in his personal life. Stanley Greene has
photographed in regions such as Chechnya, Iraq, Rwanda and Sudan
and is one of the founders of the international photo agency
NOOR.
Every day, newspapers and magazines are filled with photos of
war, oppression and violence. The photographer that enables us to
watch what is happening in the rest of the world from the safety of
our own homes, however, usually remains invisible. This is not the
case in Black Passport, the biography of war photographer
Stanley Greene, which appeared in book form in 2009 and will be
exhibited in Foam starting on 16 December. Photos of conflict and
disaster regions such as Rwanda, Sudan, Chechnya and Iraq are
alternated with photos from the private life of Stanley Greene:
photos of Paris and many women. Slide shows will also be presented,
interspersed with texts from the book. Greene's voice resounds
through the exhibition space - he is disconcertingly frank:
'I think you can only keep positive for eight years. If you stay at
it longer than that, you turn. And not into a beautiful
butterfly.'
Just as Stanley Greene, visitors to the exhibition are poised
between the safety of Western life and the horrors of foreign wars.
And it is precisely this juxtaposition that causes these photos to
stir us more than the stream of bad-news images that inundate us
daily. In addition, Black Passport is a fascinating story
about what it is like to be a war photographer. Why does someone
choose to be continually confronted with death and misery? Is it an
escape from everyday reality and a craving for adventure?
Stanley Greene has photographed in the former Soviet Union,
Central America, Asia and the Middle East. His work has appeared in
publications including Newsweek, The New York Times
Magazine, Stern and Paris Match. He has won
various World Press Awards and in 2004 the W. Eugene Smith Award.
Open Wound: Chechnya 1994-2003 was published in 2004 and
his book Black Passport in 2009. Greene is one of the
founders of the Amsterdam-based international photo agency
NOOR.
The exhibition has been produced in close cooperation with Teun
van der Heijden (www. heijdenskarwei.com), the compiler and
designer of Stanley Greene's book, Black Passport. Van der
Heijden is a graphic designer and has for many years worked with
World Press Photo and renowned international photographers.
Stanley Greene appears at Foam from 15 December 2011 to 5
February 2012. Open daily from 10am to 6pm, Thurs/Fri 10am to
9pm. Ticket: € 8,50.
Note to editors: For more
information and visual material please contact the Communications
department, e-mail foam@foam.org or phone +31 20 5516500.
Foam is supported by BankGiro Loterij, De Brauw Blackstone
Westbroek, Delta Lloyd and the VandenEnde Foundation.
Foam
Keizersgracht 609, 1017 DS Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: + 31 20 5516500
www.foam.org