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Pulitzer Prizes
for Photography:
Between 1942 and 1967 a Pulitzer Prize for
Photography was awarded for photojournalism, that is, for photographs telling a
news story. In 1968 that award was replaced by awards in two new categories:
·
the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News
Photography (photography in the nature of breaking news, as it has been called
since 2000); and
·
the Pulitzer Prize for Feature
Photography (human interest and matters associated with new items).
World
Press Photo of the Year:
From 1955 World Press Photo has awarded prizes for
the best photographs in 10 categories, with an overall award for the image that
"... is not only the photojournalistic encapsulation of the year, but
represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and
does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception
and creativity".
The photographs are interesting not only in their
own right but for being windows on history.
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Award:
|
Pulitzer Prize for Spot
/ Breaking News Photography
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Year:
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1987
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Photographer:
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Kim Komenich, San
Francisco Examiner
|
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Photograph(s):
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Photographic coverage
of the fall of Ferdinand Marcos.
|
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The Photographs:
|
Some
of the 48,000 photographs taken by Kim Komenich between 1984-1986 of the
Philippines revolution against Ferdinand Marcos:
A large bust of Ferdinand Marcos carved into a hillside in Benguet is overtaken
by demonstrators.
Thousands
of supporters gather in a human barricade that repeatedly turns away Marcos
tanks and troops and protects the pro-Aquino troops and leaders inside. A flag
bearing the likeness of assassinated Filipino political leader Benigno Aquino
Jr. waves over the crowd.
Catholic
nuns, rosaries in hand, form the first line of defense against machine-gun
wielding Marcos troops.
Corazon
Aquino is sworn in as President of the Philippines. Doña Aurora Aquino, the
mother of Ninoy, holds the Bible.
A
defiant Ferdinand Marcos and an anguished Imelda Marcos facing their supporters
before fleeing the country.
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The Photographer:
|
(Kim
Komenich (1956 - ) was hired as a photographer for the san Francisco Examiner
in 1982. He continued working as a staff photographer for
the Examiner until 2000. In 2007, Komenich graduated from the University of
Missouri with a master's degree in journalism. From 2000–2009, Komenich served
as a staff photographer and editor at the San Francisco Chronicle before
accepting a full-time teaching position at his alma mater, San José State
University. In 2015, Komenich accepted an assistant professor position at San
Francisco State University.
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Background:
|
Ferdinand
Marcos (1917 – 1989) was President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, who
ruled as a dictator under martial law from 1972 until 1981. His regime was
infamous for its corruption, extravagance, and brutality.
When
Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, he revamped the
Constitution, silenced the media, and used violence and oppression against the
political opposition, Muslims, communist rebels and ordinary citizens. Public outrage led to the snap elections of
1986. Allegations of mass cheating, political turmoil, and human rights abuses
led to the People Power Revolution in February 1986, which removed him from
power. Corazon “Cory” Aquino, the widow of assassinated opposition leader Benino
“Ninoy” Aquino, became President of the Philippines, the first woman to hold
that office. She is widely accredited as the Mother of Asian Democracy.
To avoid
what could have been a military confrontation in Manila between pro- and
anti-Marcos troops, Marcos was advised by President Ronald Reagan to "cut
and cut cleanly", after which Marcos fled to Hawaii.
According
to source documents provided by the Presidential Commission on Good Government,
the Marcos family stole US$5–10 billion and removed billions of dollars from
the Philippines between 1965 and 1986. His wife Imelda Marcos, whose excesses
made her infamous in her own right, spawned the term "Imeldific",
meaning ostentatiously extravagant, sometimes to the point of vulgarity.
Ferdioand
Marcos
Imelda
Marcos
Cory
Aquino
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About the photos:
|
Kim
Komenich won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1987 for capturing
images of the “People Power” revolution that rocked the Philippines. On assignment from the San Francisco Examiner,
he took over 48,000 photographs between 1984 and 1986, documenting the rise of
“People Power” that saw Cory Aquino become the head of opposition to Marcos
after her husband was assassinated at Manila Airport upon his return to the
Philippines. According to Komenich, he
“focused on the excesses and corruption of the Marcos regime. It was a wild
time. One day we would spend with the communist New People's Army, and the next
night we'd be having dinner with Imelda Marcos."
In 2011
Kim Komenich had an exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of the
People Power Revolution that saw Cory Aquino elected President and the ousting
of the Marcos. Entitled “Revolution
Revisited”, it was a revisiting of the people he had photographed in the
earlier years, the photographs being an exhibition of then and now. The exhibition was opened by President
Benigno Aquino 111, the son of Ninoy and Cory Aquino, President of the
Philippines from 2010 until 2016.
Pr
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Award:
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Pulitzer Price for Feature Photography
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Year:
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1987
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David C Peterson, Des Moines Register
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Photograph(s):
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“Farm Owners”
Photographs depicting the shattered dreams of American
farmers.
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The Photographs:
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A sample:
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The Photographer:
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David
Peterson won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 1987 and again in
1991 for community service while working for the Des Moines Register. He has
photographed thirty-seven Drake Relays for readers of the Topeka
Capital-Journal, the Des Moines Register, and Track & Field News. His work
has also appeared in National Geographic, numerous Harper-Collins photo books,
Parenting Magazine, Newsweek, Smithsonian Magazine, and the IOWAN. Before
graduating from Kansas State University, he was a six-time All-American and Big
Eight champion in track and field and served as team captain his senior year. A
newspaper photojournalist for thirty-three years, Peterson now has his own
business specializing in editorial, corporate, and travel photography. He lives
in Pleasant Hill, Iowa.
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Comments:
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In the
1980’s, the situation facing farmers in the US was the worst that it had been
since the Great Depression. Declining
crop prices and rising interest rates resulted in foreclosures and forced
sales. Where generations of farmers had
passed farms to succeeding generations, for many there was nothing left to hold
onto, much less pass on.
Photographer
David Preston was determined to put a human face on the tragedy and took leave
of absence from the Des Moines Register.
He spent time with Pat and Elmer Steffes, Iowa farmers trying to make a
go of their small holding. The farm
crisis was especially severe in Iowa.
The symbol of death of a farm was a white wooden cross planted at the
front of the farmhouse. The Steffes
planted a number on their lawn. They
ended up losing their farm when the bank foreclosed after they defaulted on
their loans.
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Award:
|
World Press Photograph
of the Year
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Year:
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1987
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Photographer:
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Anthony Suau
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Photograph(s):
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Election in South
Korea
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The Photograph:
|
A
desperate mother in Kuro, South Korea leans against a riot policeman’s shield
and begs for mercy for her son, arrested during a demonstration. After the
November election there were protests against the government, accused of
electoral fraud.
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The Photographer:
|
Born
in the United States in 1956, Anthony Suau has been based in Europe since 1987
and has dedicated his career to documenting the effects of international events
on the lives of people around the world.
His awards as a photographer include:
·
the
1984 Pulitzer Prize for his images of the famine in Ethiopia;
·
a
2008 World Press Photo of the Year for his image of an armed officer moving
through a home following residents' eviction as a result of mortgage
foreclosure.
He
has also published books and made documentaries.
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Comments:
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From
Anthony Suau’s website at:
After two decades of
building an economic miracle, in the summer of 1987 tens of thousands of
frustrated South Korean students took to the streets demanding democratic
reform. "People Power" Korean-style saw Koreans from all social
spectrums join in the protests. With the Olympics to be held in South Korea in
1988, President Chun Doo Hwan decided on no political reforms and to choose the
ruling party chairman, Roh Tae Woo, as his heir. The protests multiplied and
after 3 weeks Chun conceded releasing oppositionist Kim Dae Jung from his 55th
house arrest and shaking hands with opposition leader Kim Young Sam. Days later
he endorsed presidential elections and an amnesty for nearly 3,000 political
prisoners. It marked the first genuine initiative of democratic reform in South
Korea and the people had their victory.
