My initial response to the
work of David Maurice Smith is that the way it has been structured in a very objective manner as there is no evidence to suggest otherwise that his images was staged in a particular way, in addition because of my assumption of his work being objective it would be relevant to assume David Maurice Smith's would be categorised under as 'Documentary Photography' because of the way that he has shot the people in his photos as they do not relativity take any notice of the photographer. (no particular eye contact was made to show that the subjects was aware the photographer was shooting them) This intrigues me to question why this is?
Furthermore I personally feel the body of work has
great impact on how the development of society is built upon; I personally feel
that the photographer challenges modern society as we are considered in this
day and age. From and educational view I think these images counters the idea
that we all live in an era where a majority of the western world population lives an a
stable manner where basic living standards are met and that there is only a
small percentage of people live that below the poverty line. Focusing on one
specific image where David Maurice Smith has shot a dead animal that has
been left on the table along with an infant observing the image creates other
qualities, where I can infuse these two aspects that he has included to build
upon the assumption of a great issue that has been presented to the viewer. In
my opinion I can elaborate on this and concluded that there is no emotion shown
by the infant for the viewer to expresses the fact that the child is uncomfortable
in any way by the presence of the dead animal. I suspect that this sort of
events must occur often enough where the infant doesn't see it as a problem
however from someone else’s point of view it could be accepted due to there up
bringing and background.
Furthermore this brings to
my next controversial idea that David Maurice Smith's work can be either
agreed or disagreed with. As an individual I have grown and have been part of a
what is referred to as modern society based on where I'm from, I have to express
feel that living in overwhelming conditions such as what David Maurice Smith
has presented to the viewer creates the idea of other countries operate so
differently of what I think is unacceptable. In comparison to some that was
view David Maurice Smith's work that is from a different country there
thoughts and opinions could potentially be the exact opposite; where perhaps in
certain cultures and societies it would be accepted and be overlooked as images
of what they would considered as 'normal'.
David Maurice Smith's work has impacted my perception of society and as people observe and judge what is accepted and what isn't accepted; based on what we as individuals have been brought up to know of a specific lifestyle that we are accustom to.
http://oculi.com.au/photographers/david-maurice-smith/living-in-the-shadows/