William Eugene Smith (December 30, 1918 – October 15, 1978), was an American photojournalist, renowned for the dedication he devoted to his projects and his uncompromising professional and ethical standards. Smith developed the photo essay into a sophisticated visual form. His most famous studies included brutally vivid World War II photographs, the clinic of Dr Schweitzer in French Equatorial Africa, the city of Pittsburgh, the dedication of an American country doctor and a nurse midwife, and the pollution which damaged the health of the residents of Minamata in Japan.
In January 1972, Smith was attacked by Chisso Company employees near Tokyo, in an attempt to stop him from further publicizing the effects of Minamata disease to the world. Although Smith survived the attack, his sight in one eye deteriorated. During the time Smith was not able to work due to his injuries, his wife of Japanese origin, Aileen M. Smith, continued his work. Smith and his wife lived in the city of Minamata from 1971 to 1973, and created a photo essay detailing the effects of the poison induced disease, caused by a Chisso factory discharging heavy metals into water sources around Minamata. The essay was published in 1975 as “‘Minamata’, Words and Photographs by W.E. Smith and A.M. Smith.” One of his most famous works, Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath, taken in December 1971, and published a few months after the 1972 attack, drew worldwide attention to the effects of Minamata disease.
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Smith returned from his stay in Minamata, Japan, in November 1974, and, after completing the Minimata book, he moved to a studio in New York with a new partner, Sherry Suris. Smith’s friends were alarmed by his deteriorating health and arranged for Smith to join the teaching faculty of the Art Department and Department of Journalism at the University of Arizona. Smith and Suris moved to Tucson, Arizona in November 1977. On 23 December 1977, Smith suffered a massive stroke, but made a partial recovery and continued to teach and organize his archive. Smith suffered a second stroke and died on October 15, 1978. He was cremated and his ashes interred in Crum Elbow Rural Cemetery, Hyde Park, New York.
W. Eugene Smith
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Eugene_Smith
William Eugene Smith (December 30, 1918 – October 15, 1978), was an American photojournalist, renowned for the dedication he devoted to his projects and his uncompromising professional and ethical standards. Smith developed the photo essay into a sophisticated visual form. His most famous studies included brutally vivid World War II photographs, the clinic of Dr Schweitzer in French Equatorial Africa, the city of Pittsburgh, the dedication of an American country doctor and a nurse midwife, and the pollution which damaged the health of the residents of Minamata in Japan.
In January 1972, Smith was attacked by Chisso Company employees near Tokyo, in an attempt to stop him from further publicizing the effects of Minamata disease to the world. Although Smith survived the attack, his sight in one eye deteriorated. During the time Smith was not able to work due to his injuries, his wife of Japanese origin, Aileen M. Smith, continued his work. Smith and his wife lived in the city of Minamata from 1971 to 1973, and created a photo essay detailing the effects of the poison induced disease, caused by a Chisso factory discharging heavy metals into water sources around Minamata. The essay was published in 1975 as “‘Minamata’, Words and Photographs by W.E. Smith and A.M. Smith.” One of his most famous works, Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath, taken in December 1971, and published a few months after the 1972 attack, drew worldwide attention to the effects of Minamata disease.
**
Smith returned from his stay in Minamata, Japan, in November 1974, and, after completing the Minimata book, he moved to a studio in New York with a new partner, Sherry Suris. Smith’s friends were alarmed by his deteriorating health and arranged for Smith to join the teaching faculty of the Art Department and Department of Journalism at the University of Arizona. Smith and Suris moved to Tucson, Arizona in November 1977. On 23 December 1977, Smith suffered a massive stroke, but made a partial recovery and continued to teach and organize his archive. Smith suffered a second stroke and died on October 15, 1978. He was cremated and his ashes interred in Crum Elbow Rural Cemetery, Hyde Park, New York.
ユージン・スミス
ウィキペディア
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ユージン・スミス
ウィリアム・ユージン・スミスは、アメリカの写真家。
1918年12月30日 カンザス州ウィチタ生まれ。母方の祖母が、アメリカインディアンのポタワトミ族の血筋もひく。 スミスの父親は小麦商を営んでいたが、大恐慌で破産し、散弾銃で自殺している。スミスはこの影響で早い時期から人の命や医療、ケアに強い関心を持ち続けた。
第二次世界大戦中にサイパン、沖縄、硫黄島などへ戦争写真家として派遣される。1945年5月、沖縄戦で歩兵と同行中、日本軍の砲弾の爆風により全身を負傷し、約2年の療養生活を送り、生涯その後遺症に悩まされることになった。その期間を振り返って、スミスは「私の写真は出来事のルポルタージュではなく、人間の精神と肉体を無惨にも破壊する戦争への告発であって欲しかったのに、その事に失敗してしまった」と述懐している。
戦後、時の大事件から一歩退き、日常にひそむ人間性の追求や人間の生活の表情などに興味の矛先を向け、1947年から1954年まで、『ライフ』で、「フォト・エッセイ」という形でそれに取り組んだ。
1961年、日立のPR写真撮影のために来日。
1970年、アイリーン・美緒子・スミスと結婚。ともに、チッソが引き起こした水俣病の汚染の実態を写真に撮り、実際に座り込みなどにも参加するなど、世界にその悲劇を伝えた。
1972年1月、千葉県五井にあるチッソの工場を訪問した際に、交渉に来た患者や新聞記者たち約20名が会社側の雇った右翼に取り囲まれ、暴行を受ける事件が発生する。スミスもカメラを壊された上、脊椎を折られ片目失明の重傷を負う。この事件でスミスは「患者さんたちの怒りや苦しみ、そして悔しさを自分のものとして感じられるようになった」と自らの苦しみを語った。その後『ライフ』1972年6月2日号に「排水管からたれながされる死」を発表し、大きな反響を得た。 スミスの元で助手をしていた森枝卓士も水俣病の取材中に右翼から暴行を受けている。
1977年12月、脳溢血で倒れる。翌年奇跡的に回復し、セミナーを行うまでになったが、1978年10月15日にアリゾナ州トゥーソンの食料雑貨店へ猫のエサを買いに来ていた際、致命的な発作を起こし死去。59歳。
技術と産業公害
by 宇井純
第4章 水俣病
水俣病を取材していたジャーナリスト、ユージン・スミスに対し、企業に忠誠を誓う多数派労組が暴行し、重傷を負わせた。