The quote is from Rumi, the Persian mystical poet. Aine is the humanitarian association Reza has founded to provide “media development and cultural expression as a foundation of democracy”. He should know. Reza Deghati is an exile from Iran, that land of mysticism and philosophy that are the baggage and legacy to Western society. His photographs are art, because they not-objective. They are poetic and lyrical messages with a multi-layered narrative beyond the comprehension of the Occidental world. Its a pacifist message that defies the militarism and racism that could devour him in his work. There are many great photographers, but he was really the first to bring the Arab world into the mainstream of photo-journalism in an applied and continuous manner. ….
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die. ( W.H. Auden )
…On Reza’s War+ Peace: It gives us an understanding of the absolute necessity of a free press: From portraits of Afghan fighters to vast, disturbing landscapes; from stark visions of dictators to quiet renderings of the impoverished and hungry–this book whispers stories that would otherwise be untold….
"Normally, you know, where there was fighting between two groups, and you wanted to—you’d love to photograph them both, but somehow 90% of you knows you’re for one of them, but to get the permission to go see the others, this is the lies that the journalist says, “oh, I’m objective, I want to see both sides, I want to see how it’s going on that one.” This is just to get—That’s just what we do. Which is absolutely necessary, to see both sides. But I haven’t seen, really, journalists or photographers that, even in a story which they have no clue about, or they don’t know about, say that I’m totally objective and I’m going to look to both sides absolutely with no filter . " read more: http://darktopography.blogspot.com/2008/12/reza-darktopo-interview.html image: http://ctcstudio.blogspot.com/2009/07/almanac-special-profile-of-photographer.html
And the truth that Reza finds in telling these stories is that there is more to conflict than death, blood, and sorrow. What we see in his pictures is the affirmation of human spirit. And as a part of that affirmation, Reza is moving on, training new witnesses. ( Max Cooper ) Read More: http://darktopography.blogspot.com/2008/12/reza-darktopo-interview.html
ADDENDUM:
MC: So I’d certainly agree with you. The flipside of that coin is that we trust the mainstream media, the big media outlets, to be objective. Whether or not they actually are is a matter of some debate, but is it possible for an individual to be objective? Have you been objective? You talk about the time you spent in Afghanistan. How high a priority is objectivity to you?…
"As he documented the political struggles in Iran, Reza says, he realized that for the Iranian government, photographs were perceived as actual weapons. At 22, he was arrested. He spent three years in prison for his photos before being forced into exile in 1981. He has never returned. Documenting the country's struggle through regime change as the shah fell and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile and took power in 1979 turned him into a real photojournalist, Reza says. read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98202970 image: http://costofwar.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/ahmad-shah-massoud-the-legacy-of-a-warrior/
REZA: Ah, I think that the objectivity of the media is probably one of the biggest lies for the last century or so. It has become like a religion. The people say, “oh, the media is objective,” and the journalist says “I’m objective.” I . . . I’m . . . this is nonsense. Look at when the . . . even if you send a robot. Imagine five robots with a camera, [sent] to photograph something. They will choose different directions. They will use different angles . . . and I do remember when the US attacked Iraq, the second war, I was somehow astonished at the story. I spent the whole day in my hotel, I was so upset . . . And being near the border, and being in a nice hotel, I started flipping through all the [media outlets] in the world. And I was looking at three or four totally different wars. Totally different wars. I could not believe it. Even the pace was not the same. So who’s talking about objectivity? Read More: http://darktopography.blogspot.com/2008/12/reza-darktopo-interview.html a
"This image was taken in Tora Bora – which used to be home to Osama Bin Laden, and the look in this little girl’s eyes embodies the trauma and defiance of the region she comes from better than any words can. He constantly repeats that images have power – they cross borders, languages, biases and cultures, and therein lies their power and their worth." Read More: http://countessdiaries.com/2010/06/03/on-photography-war-and-bad-parking-my-lunch-with-a-legend/
Read More: https://movingimages.wordpress.com/category/peace/
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/archives/rumi.html
http://www.poetbloggs.com/love-poems-of-passion-by-rumi-persian-poet/
http://www.culturesofresistance.org/aina-afghanistan a
Kellerman: About halfway into the ordeal, the unusually serene French photographer, who grasped some Arabic and often translated for us, asked me my name. When I responded and asked him his, he responded "Reza." I knew that name. Puzzled, I responded in French, "Reza comment?" and he simply answered "C'est Reza." I let out a laugh of bewilderment. Beside me in a loose jacket and scarf wrapped around his head was The Reza, the famous war photographer whose book War + Peace I had received for my 30th birthday just two years and two days before. I told him the anecdote, and we both laughed as the violence escalated around us. Reza seemed unfazed. This was probably his umpteenth time being held captive. He chuckled about this being my trial by fire as a war photographer. Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Attacked+thugs+streets+Cairo/4221596/story.html#ixzz1D3RSYfHi photo: http://www.redbox.de/news/buecher/detail.php?nr=27319
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Although a devout Muslim, the journey of the Sufi according to Rumi, was to be encountered in personal experience- not in abstract doctrine and creed. Some of his ideas would seem to sit well within universalist ideas of faith. For example-
I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only ‘anqa’s habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet’s experience of a great divine manifestation only a “two bow-lengths’ distance from him” but God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.
Rumi believed that we could encounter the Beloved through dance, music, art and of course- poetry. After his death others formed an order of Sufi’s that came to be known as the Whirling Dervishes, because of their wild ecstatic dancing, and regarded him as their spiritual father…. Read More: http://thisfragiletent.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/persian-poetry-3-rumi/
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