6.16.2009

BENJAMIN LOWY: Iraq Perspectives

Photograph © Bejamin Lowy/ All rights reserved
Click images to enlarge

Taken through Humvee window
Photograph © Bejamin Lowy/ All rights reserved

Taken through Humvee window
Photograph © Bejamin Lowy/ All rights reserved

Most people have never really seen or felt the effects of war. Confronted by a level of violence so high that walking on the streets to photograph is tantamount to suicidal behavior, I found myself confined to working with American soldiers, spending most of my time going on various missions while looking at the landscape of this broken country. My only view was through the inches-think bulletproof window of an Army Humvee. –Benjamin Lowy

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BENJAMIN LOWY received a BA from Washington University, St. Louis in 2002 and began his career covering the Iraq War in 2003. Since then he has covered major stories in Afghanistan, Darfur, Haiti, Indonesia, and Libya among others. In 2004 Lowy attended the World Press Joop Swart Masterclass and was nominated for the ICP Infinity Award. He was named in Photo District News 30 and his images of Iraq were chosen by PDN as some of the most iconic of the 21st century. Lowy has received awards from World Press Photo, POYi, PDN, Communication Arts, American Photography, and the Society for Publication Design. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Fortune, Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Men's Health, ESPN Magazine, and other publications. Benjamin's work from Iraq and Darfur have been collected into several gallery and museum shows, and his work from Darfur appeared in the SAVE DARFUR media campaign.

Lowy's impressive photographs are an example of the high caliber of work selected to participate in Review Santa Fe 2009. After the Review weekend was over, I had a noteworthy experience in the DFW airport hub. Over lunch I sat in on an Enlightening conversation between Anthony Bannon, Director, George Eastman House and Ben Lowy. Among the history of photography and other related topics bandied about, I found out Ben is married to photojournalist Marvi Lacar and they are expecting their first child, a boy, this year. Good Fortune! Look for a post on Marvi Lacar's photographs soon.

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