One Man's War: Photographs by Barr Ashcraft
Photographs from the 1960s and 1970s in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Opening Reception: Monday September 19, 2005 4-6pm
Gallery Talk with artist: Thursday September 29, 2005 5-7pm
A statement by photographer Barr Ashcraft:
"For me, the camera plays no favorites, regardless how far the eye wanders. For me, the camera takes no stand on the issue, regardless of the emotions of the photographer or viewer. Contrary to what some persons want to hear, given the subject I photograph, the camera is nothing more than a tool or machine inquiring into the human condition. In my case it is a mechanical device that captures a moment in time. Sometimes that moment, that slice of time, when in the heat of battle, has been the final minute of the 12th hour of men in combat. The camera is as relentless as it is indifferent, as it probes the human condition without preference, judgment or guilt.
The photographer, outside the studio and its props and pretenses, does not have the luxury of detachment from beauty or ugliness. It is the camera in the field that illustrates it as it is: unabashed, relentless, unfeeling, antiseptic and, in a larger sense, free of favoritism.
Through the accidents of time and place, given my travels in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in the 1960s and 1970s, I have been in both the cauldrons of combat and the Gardens of Eden. Usually I have preferred the cauldrons, NOT because I like them but because the cauldrons are an honest focus that forces awareness and responses (i.e., seeing and feeling) that I cannot get as an armchair observer. This focus is what I call “Confrontation with the Darker Side” of the human animal. For me the darker side has been the militarization of the Third World, the frenzied race for, and the rape of the world’s resources, and the increased alienation of man that comes with self-serving jingoistic efforts at racial purity, apoplectic religious tribalism and personal power.
For too many Americans the consequences of their spent tax dollars are of little concern. We are too indifferent to the intentions of our spokesmen and government representatives to question what is happening to our freedoms, our country and the world. I believe this is a malaise that affects the spirit of a people transforming potentially aware observers and participants into weak-willed self-indulgent voyeurs. Hollywood panders to such weaklings in its depictions of “action heroes” and unrealistic Rambo-like theatrics.
In my photos I have tried to cull out the lies and cut directly to the core of truth, regardless of consequences.
If these photos offend you or repulse you, prompting you to a quick and glib judgment, then the truth has been ill-served and I have failed. If, however, these photos cause you to pause with concern, reflect without judging and ask without expecting an easy, safe, and salubrious answer, then maybe I have succeeded a bit."
Directions & Parking
The Student Union Building is in the central area of the UMass campus. The Art Gallery is on the first floor of the Student Union, located on the South Side the Building, across from Earth Foods and the Cape Cod Lounge. Parking is available in the adjacent Campus Center Parking Garage.