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[Identification of item], Benjamin Lowy Photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Benjamin Lowy Photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2011.
Processed by Joanne Fairhurst, November 2012
Encoded by Joanne Fairhurst, November 2012
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2011-0180
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Benjamin Lowy, a documentary photographer, was born on June 4, 1979. After receiving his BFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2002, Lowy began his career covering the Iraq War in 2003. In addition to his coverage of Iraq, Lowy has worked in Darfur, Libya, Haiti, Afghanistan, and other countries. Lowy has received numerous awards for his work from World Press Photo, POYi, PDN, Communication Arts, American Photography, and the Society for Publication Design. Lowy has also exhibited his work at the Tate Modern, SF MOMA, Houston Center for Photography, Invalides, and Arles. In 2011, Lowy's
The Benjamin Lowy Photographs collection dates from 2003-2008 and consists of thirty-two color photographs, stemming from Lowy's work in Iraq, which document the U.S. military presence in Iraq, night raids, street scenes, Iraqis civilians, prisoners and soldiers. The images were published in
The prints are arranged in two subseries: Windows and Nightvision. The Windows subseries, consisting of 16 13" x 19" color digital inkjet prints, offers images taken from the bulletproof windows of the armored Humvees in which Lowy spent most of his time while on missions in Iraq. The images include street scenes with Iraqi civilians, tanks, soldiers, checkpoints, military impoundments, street life, urban Iraqi culture, and a war-ravaged Iraqi landscape. Images in the Nightvision subseries, consisting of 16 13" x 19" color digital inkjet prints, were taken through U.S. military-issue night vision goggles, which Lowy attached to his camera with a combination of duct tape, dental floss and occasionally chewing gum. The night vision images reveal late night raids, prisoners, soldiers, interactions between soldiers and prisoners, Iraqi landscapes, families, women, and street scenes. All the images were shot with a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera and printed on Epson Professional Paper. They are arranged in original order as received.
Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
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Thirty-two 9x13" color digital inkjet prints taken by Benjamin Lowy during the Iraq War. The prints are arranged into two subseries, 1) Iraq | Perspectives I: Windows and 2) Iraq | Perspective II: Nightvision. The images are arranged in the original order as received.
This subseries, consisting of 16 color digital inkjet prints, stems from images taken from the bulletproof windows of the armored Humvees in which Lowy spent most of his time while on missions in Iraq. This perspective was necessary since Lowy was unable to tour the streets of Iraq without protection. The Humvee window, evidenced in each image of this subseries, came to represent the barrier between the Americans and Iraqis. The images portray not only street scenes with Iraqi civilians, notably Iraqi women and children, but also tanks, soldiers, checkpoints, military impoundments, street life, urban Iraqi culture, and a war-ravaged Iraqi landscape.
The images of this subseries, consisting of 16 color digital inkjet prints, were taken through U.S. military-issue night vision goggles, which Lowy attached to his DSLR camera with a combination of duct tape, dental floss and occasionally chewing gum. The night vision images, with an eerie green hue, reveal cowering civilians, abandoned streets and anxious soldiers. The images document the impact of war on Iraq. Dominant subjects include late night raids, prisoners, soldiers, interactions between soldiers and prisoners, Iraqi landscapes, families, women, street scenes.