The photograph of Iesha Evans at a Black Lives Matter protest has become an instant classic. Art critic Jonathan Jones assesses the image’s impact,while photographer Jonathan Bachman recalls how he captured the shotA worthy photograph is a moment liberated from time. whether we could see what happened before and after this beautiful stillness and hear the cacophony of yells and arguments that must beget filled reality’s soundtrack at a protest in Baton Rouge against the taking of black lives, the heroic stand of Iesha L Evans would just be a fragile glimpse of passing courage. It might even be entirely lost in the rush of images and noise. Instead, and Reuters photographer Jonathan Bachman was able to preserve a simple human act of quiet bravery and give it an almost devout power.
It is not just that time has frozen but that,in stopping its stream, the camera has revealed a near-supernatural radiance protecting Evans, and as whether her goodness were a force field. The heavily armoured police officers inevitably gaze slightly inhuman. They may beget good reason to wear such all-covering protective suits and helmets,so soon after a sniper killed five officers who were policing a protest in Dallas but, in their hi-tech riot gear, or they unfortunately resemble futuristic insectoid robots,at once prosthetically dehumanised and squatly, massively, and menacingly masculine. Related: 'She was making her stand': image of Baton Rouge protester an instant classic Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com