International Center of Photography - Gerda Taro

First - just in case anyone else had the same problem I did, try this link to get to the collections of past exhibititions: http://www.icp.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions

I started to browse through the past exhibitions, but was somewhat disappointed that so many had only a handful of photos, and some none at all. It really made it hard to get a feel for many of the collections. However there were a handful that had a nice showing of the artist's work so I tried to focus on them. I stumbled across Gerda Taro and was struck by the dates 1910-1937. Only 27 years old! (Actually I would find out later, she died just shy of her 27th birthday.)

Gerda Taro

(1910 - 1937) German

After seeing the gallery of her photographs I wanted to find out more about who she was and why she died so young. Turns out her passion for photography was what led to her death. During the Spanish Civil War she was taking photographs of the Brunete region near Madrid when the car she was in was hit on the side by a tank and she was run over. She died from the wounds later.

You may see some of her photos published under the name 'Robert Capa' which was the name she and her partner first published their combined works under. Later her partner (Ernie Friedmann) would take the name Capa for himself, but Taro (originally Gerta Pohorylle) would begin to publish her photos under her own name. Her last photos from 1937 are her most acclaimed, and those are the ones in this exhibition.

She was Jewish, and joined a leftist group to appose Nazi Germany. Eventually she and her family were forced to leave the country, and she would never see her family again as they went towards different destinations. She became a photographer and changed her name, but continued to fight for what she believed in.

Her photographs are very powerful, and I will let them speak for themselves. I will warn you, some of them are very graphic.

This photo especially stuck out to me. I think its the slight smile on the face of the man, and the way it almost looks like he and the woman lying next to him are looking at one another or possibly even holding hands. It is only upon closer inspection you realize neither of them are still alive. What a eye for the perspective in this shot. Gerda found a way to share the tragedy that this country was going through at the time and make it feel more personal to those watching from a distance. It really makes you wonder what Gerda could have gone on to do if she had not died so young.

Full Gallery can be found here: http://www.icp.org/browse/archive/collections/gerda-taro-september-26-2007-january-6-2008?page=3