This exhibition coincides with the first anniversary of the war in Iraq, which officially lasted from March 19 to May 1, 2003, when President George W. Bush declared it at an end. To date, over 550 American military personnel have been killed in the war in addition to an estimated 12,000 Iraqi soldiers and civilians. The photographs by VII begin with the prelude to the current war, with images from the United States and from combat in Afghanistan. They continue through Iraq until July of last year. The images are powerful statements by individual witnesses who were present as these events unfolded; indeed, they have become primary sources in the documenting of our recent history.

Some of the photographers were “embedded” with U. S. military units—that is, they were allowed to travel and live with fighting troops—while others were “unilaterals,” traveling independently from city to city during the most explosive periods of violence, and without the protection of the military. The policy of embedding media has theoretically provided more personal and close up coverage. Yet with over 2,700 reporters and photographers having covered the war we are still left with unanswered questions. Vivid first-person accounts of life in the war zone by the photographers themselves answer some of these queries, and a chronology of events encourages viewers to reflect on the complexities brought into focus by this anniversary.
  This is an unprecedented moment in the history of photojournalism, and in our understanding of its role in the media The war in Iraq demonstrates a dramatic change in the way news is gathered: the development of laptop computers, digital cameras, Sat phones, and micro recording devices have enabled the photographer to give viewers immediate, live access to the battlefield. But visual reportage is also appearing in surprising new venues. In addition to the weekly news magazines, many strong photographs end up on television and on web sites including those hosted by organizations as different as CNN, National Geographic, and Time. High-resolution digital images that can be rapidly reproduced in newsprint or on web sites also allow the possibility of making fine large-scale prints like those in this exhibition. But what do these photographs tell us? In addition to providing startling information about the immediacy of the war on the ground, they also force us to question how repercussions of our actions are affecting us, the Iraqi people, and the play of relationships between nations and peoples on the world stage. This exhibition reminds us that we must continue to look for and to consider critically the answers they may suggest.

The War in Iraq: The Coordinates of Conflict, Photographs by VII was organized by guest curator Peter Howe and ICP curator Edward Earle.

 

This exhibition is sponsored by Canon USA

Exhibition prints were provided by Modernage Custom Digital Imaging Labs