189 - Ben Brody
© Ben Brody
Ben Brody is an independent photographer, educator, and picture editor working on long-form projects related to the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their aftermath. He is the Director of Photography for The GroundTruth Project and Report for America, and a co-founder of Mass Books.
His first book, Attention Servicemember, was shortlisted for the 2019 Aperture - Paris Photo First Book Award and is now in its second edition.
Ben holds an MFA from Hartford Art School's International Low-Residency Photography program. He resides in western Massachusetts.
On episode 189, Ben discusses, among other things:
How he got into photography.
How 9/11 influenced his decision to join the army.
The mandate he was given by his superiors.
Reappropriating the reappropriated.
How the media’s portrayal of war becomes a ‘feedback loop’.
Vernacular vs. ‘professional’ images of war, as exemplified by Abu Ghraib.
Why he went to Afghanistan as a civilian photographer.
Circumventing the restrictions of the embed program.
His new book 300M and how it came about.
Referenced:
Kurt Vonnergut, Slaughterhouse Five
Ed Clark
Joe Sacco
Shabana Basij-Rasikh
“I felt like there was a space in culture to make a photobook that was narrated by a totally ordinary soldier, who was not some scary CAG operator or CIA spook. And also by a pretty ordinary photographer, not like a famous photographer with a storied history who’s really invested in a cult of personal celebrity. When I made Attention Service Member and now 300M, which is almost like an epilogue to Service Member, I had the luxury of having probably seventy five photobooks already about the global war on terror that had come out before me. So I was able to analyse those books and assess, ‘what hasn’t been done before?’”
This episode of the podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club - the latest and greatest photobooks, expertly curated and delivered to you door with free shipping and no hassles.
INFORM THE MIND, INSPIRE THE SOUL
To download this episode and all other archived episodes sign up as a A Small Voice member HERE!
•
To download this episode and all other archived episodes sign up as a A Small Voice member HERE! •
Tier 1 membership: access to complete archive of past episodes, plus exclusive member-only content including a second fortnightly episode.
Tier 2 membership: access to complete archive of past episodes.
