Garry Winogrand--Presidential Candidates' Press Conference, Providence, R.I.

Photograph by Garry Winogrand, “Presidential Candidates' Press Conference, Providence R.I.” 1971. Arstor. Courtesy of University of California, San Diego.

With the 2012 presidential election quickly approaching, the American public’s zealous scrutiny of the presidential candidates appears matched only by the fervor inspired by furious condemnations of biased media coverage. I selected Gary Winogrand’s photograph, “Presidential Candidates' Press Conference, Providence R.I.,” taken in 1971, because it provided me with a somewhat refreshing vision of the American media. Removed from all traces of the 1972 presidential election’s political climate, Winogrand’s photograph takes on a self-reflective nature. By turning the camera’s focus away from the candidates and instead towards the journalists and news reporters, he offers the viewer an almost intimate, humanizing portrait of the media.