Steve McCurry, Afghan Girl, near Peshwar, Pakistan (1984)
Steve McCurry took this iconic portrait of "the Afghan girl," in December 1985. McCurry, a photographer for National Geographic, had been sent to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan to document the suffering of the Afghan people as a result of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. At the time, "a quarter of Afghanistan’s prewar population of about 15 million [had] been forced into exile in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. At least another million [were] 'internal refugees,' driven from their homes by bombing and other military action."[1] This hauntingly beautiful photograph portrays Sharbat Gula, a young girl, who had fled to the refugee camp with her grandmother and four siblings after a bomb had destroyed her home and killed her parents.
In an interview with Phaidon at the Chris Beetles Fine Photos Gallery, McCurry recalled his initial reaction upon entering the school tent in the refugee camp:
"When I walked into the classroom I was kind of convinced that she was really an amazing person but she was very shy...I started off by photographing the other students, because I thought if I approach her straight away and she says 'no' that would be a no for the rest of the day. So I photographed her classmates and got them involved in the process. I wanted her to feel that she was almost excluded so that she'd want to take part in it and, sure enough, it got to the point where she agreed."
In this same interview, McCurry goes on to explain how "there's a real emotion and a real beauty in the picture. Her expression is ambiguous...she has a rip in her shawl and her face is kind of dirty. But through that there's a dignity and there's a perseverance and a fortitude. There's a wide range of emotions. I think there’s a great depth to the picture."[2]
The photograph, indeed, captured the attention of many. The photograph was used on the cover for the June 1985 issue of National Geographic, and became a symbol of the Afghan conflict in the 1980s and of the terrible ordeal of refugees worldwide. To honor Sharbat Gula, National Geographic established the Afghan Children's Fund, a charity to help provide education for Afghan children. The image of the "Afghan Girl," inspired the world to recognize the extent of the damage occurring in Afghanistan. Without the blood, explosions, and devastated buildings, the photograph still speaks to the tragedy and consequences of war through Gula's expression and piercing eyes.
The power of this portrait stems from the simple composition, and from our human compassion towards this young girl that stares out so fiercely. We react to her eyes, and understand that we have not seen what she has seen. In fact, the photograph tells us almost nothing about her. And yet, we feel that she has struggled. The image reflects the cruelty of the world, and also maintains an aesthetic quality that captivates the viewer. In "Looking at War," Sontag writes:
"Transforming is what art does, but photography that bear witness to the calamitous and the reprehensible is much criticized if it seems 'aesthetic': that is, too much like art. The dual powers of photography - to generate documents and to create works of visual art - have produces some remarkable exaggerations about what photographers ought or ought not to do. These days, most exaggeration is of the puritanical kind. In this view, a beautiful photograph drains attention from the sobering subject and turns it toward the medium itself, inviting the viewer to look "aesthetically," and thereby compromising the picture's status as a document. The photograph gives mixed signals. Stop this, it urges. But its also exclaims, What a Spectacle!"
The photograph does just this. It exposes the viewer to the consequences of war, while also expressing a stunning portrait of human resilience and survival. Should it be criticized for that? In "Looking At War," Sontag continues to emphasize the power of photographs that maintain this duality of emotions. The photograph is both beautiful and tragic. The image below further emphasize how emotion can be illustrated in documentary portraiture. Here we see Gula in 1984 and in 2002. Her expression is still as cold and distant as it was when she was young. There is a strong sense that both photographs capture the essence of who she is and where she comes from.
Steve McCurry, Sharbat Gula in 1984 and 2002
"We truly can't imagine what it is like. We can't imagine how dreadful, how terrifying war is - and how normal it becomes."
-Susan Sontag
Steve McCurry, Sharbat Gula with National Geographic Cover, 2002
Works Cited
Denker, Debra. "A Life Revealed: Along Afghanistan's War-torn Frontier." National Geographic April (2002). Accessed November 25, 2012. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/original-story-text.
Rubin, Elizabeth. "Veiled Rebellion." National Geographic December (2010). Accessed November 25, 2012. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/12/afghan-women/rubin-text.
Sontag, Susan. "Looking at War." The New Yorker December (2002): 1-19.
"Revealed - the true story behind the 'Afghan Mona Lisa'." Phaidon September (2011). Accessed November 25, 2012. http://www.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/events/2011/september/07/revealed-the-true-story-behind-the-afghan-mona-lisa/.
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