Capturing the injuries of war
Born and raised in New York City, Nina Berman attended Columbia’s graduate School of Journalism before dedicating herself to photography and collaborating with major publications and newspapers – among them Time, National Geographic, The New York Times, Paris Match and Stern. Following the emergence of the war in Iraq, Berman began photographing injured war veterans. The project culminated in «Purple Hearts,» a book of portraits and interviews. The body of work has already traveled extensively throughout the United States – most recently the works went on display at the Jen Beckman Gallery in New York. Kathimerini caught up with the artist to talk about the harsh realities of war. You were born in NYC, a town that you still find fascinating. As a photographer and a New Yorker how much has NYC changed since, say, the 1970s? Did the city change drastically after the events of 9/11? I don’t think anything has fundamentally altered in the city since 9/11 except for the skyline, which is still difficult for me to process. You have some corporations leaving lower Manhattan for safer quarters in the suburbs. The police force has expanded powers and has displayed them during times of political unrest such as during the 2004 Republican convention and the protests leading up to the Iraq war. They stop and frisk far more people then they did before. And you can often see strange displays, almost theatrical in nature, of highly militarized police units appearing in places, standing around for a few minutes and then disappearing, all for the purpose of «keeping terrorists guessing,» an absurd notion, but one stated by the NYC police commissioner. You are interested in exploring the contemporary American way of life but you have also traveled to places like Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc. Were these assignments a kind of war photo reporting? My assignments in Bosnia and Afghanistan had to do with how the female populations in those two countries were used as tools of war. In the case of Bosnia, this meant the rape of Muslim women by Serb forces as a way to implement ethnic cleansing. In Afghanistan, the oppression of women by the Taliban was in the Taliban’s own words, necessary as part of national defense and the defense of Islam. These assignments were war reporting but not in the way it is normally understood. War reporting is often a male enterprise with the reporters/photographers being male and the subjects being the action, the battles for land, territory etc., what is sometimes referred to as «the bang bang.» I am not interested in that, nor do I think I would be very good at it. I am more interested in the personal stories and the aftermath. How did you come up with this idea of photographing these veterans and what was the reception of this work around the States? I came up with the idea because I wasn’t seeing any images of human casualties and I felt lied to every time I opened a newspaper, magazine or turned on the TV. So I decided to find out for myself what it means to be a wounded person in this war. I started the project shortly after the war began. At first I received hate mail when some of my images first appeared. But overall the reception has been extremely positive and more so as time goes on and the casualties mount. How difficult was it to approach the veterans and have permission to photograph and interview them? Were there any refusals or other complications? I found them on my own through basic journalistic research and did not rely on the army or anyone else except in a few circumstances. Only a few turned me down. Some of these guys did not in fact have any regrets about their involvement in the war. Do you feel that this was quite surprising or even disturbing? This was perplexing to me at first, but I realize that it’s a very complicated psychology. Being in the military makes a person feel powerful. It gives them an identity. It gives them a purpose. For some, it was the first time they had ever felt useful. Plus, they are told they are fighting on the side of good, defending their country, avenging 9/11. So they have a sense of righteousness. While in Iraq, they also developed intense friendships with and loyalties to their fellow soldiers. Some of them feel guilty they were wounded and left their friends behind. I didn’t understand at first how they could say they would go back, if given the chance. Then I asked them would they go back if their friends weren’t there and they said no, so I realized that what they were really missing was their friends and the idea of themselves before their injury. Of course there were a handful that really liked the fighting and the danger and the power of life and death which comes when you are part of an occupying force, but that is true of any military. I had a hard time relating to these few, and was surprised at their comments, but I still tried to open my heart to them and humanize them. I have only seen pictures of men in «Purple Hearts.» Did you try to speak to wounded women and they refused? Is there a social or other difference between a disfigured man and a disfigured woman who has served in a war? I did photograph one woman and she is in the book. I had a hard time finding women when I started, which is why there is only one. I don’t know if there is a difference between what it means to be a disfigured man or a woman, but it is a good question. There was a woman vet who was an amputee recently who ran for Congress. I don’t think much was made of her being a woman and an amputee. If I was to photograph women veterans now, I would be much more interested in photographing those who were sexually abused as there is a lot of sexual abuse in the military. I tried to do this a few years ago, but the magazine I was working for decided in the end not to pursue the story. An act of cowardice, I felt. Can an image portray the actual horror of war or does it reproduce it in a passive or even entertaining way? Also, were there any reactions by Americans (especially outside NY) who, by looking at your photos, became more skeptical regarding the Iraq war? I believe my photographs are undeniable evidence of the human cost of war. They depict loneliness, alienation and vulnerability. They are nothing like combat photos. There is no glory, no adrenaline rush, no conquest and no victory. There are no weapons or military toys. The people in my images are rendered powerless. Most images of wounded soldiers show them being taken off the battlefield, held by their comrades, or in hospital fixed up by doctors with maybe a loved one standing close. All this makes the viewer feel that things will be okay, this is a hero and people are there who will make things right. None of this exists in my pictures intentionally and it is why people find them so distressing. I have taken my images around to many high schools in many communities where members of the military were currently recruiting students in the classrooms and after seeing my images several students changed their minds. Many cried. I have been to places where parents, retired members of the military, have brought their young children; sometimes as young as 8 years old, to see my pictures to show them what really happens in war. This is true across the country and is by no means a New York or blue state phenomenon.
