Claire Beckett’s In Training: Soldiers before War
by 
|Boston-based photographer Claire Beckett earned a BA in Anthropology from Kenyon College and an MFA in Photography from the Massachusetts College of Art. Her photo series — In Training: Soldiers Before War — was inspired by the two years she spent as a part of the Peace Corps Volunteers in the Republic of Benin, West Africa. We interviewed her about it: How did this project begin? ‘I was drawn to this subject initially in late 2004, around the time that there was a lot in the news about the lack of up-armored humvees (the armor necessary to protect soldiers). At that time, we weren’t allowed to see photographs of the coffins of deceased soldiers. I felt a strong compulsion to make work on the subject because I thought it deserved more attention than it was getting. I have stayed with the work because I still find the subject moving, and because it really interests me’.
You seem to have shot many more women than men for this series. Is this intentional?
‘I don’t believe that this work deals especially with gender other than the reality that gender is always with us in this world. I probably photographed about the same number of men as women, but in my experience the women were more open and their photographs were more to my liking’.
What is your level of access while shooting at Basic or Pre-Basic Training?
‘The biggest challenge of access is getting in the gates in the first place. This can take many months of phone calls, emails and proving my credentials. Once I am in the training facilities I generally find that I have access to almost anything I would want to photograph. Both the soldiers and the officers tend to be enthusiastic about working with me and they help me make the photographs that I want to make’.
What has been the biggest discovery while working on this series of young soldiers?
‘Before embarking on this project, I knew very little about contemporary soldiers or the military. Most of what I’d known up this point came from family stories of World War II and Vietnam. I did not personally know any members of the Armed Services, so the entire thing has been and education.
‘The most important thing that I’ve learned is that there is a tremendous variety among soldiers in terms of their personal biographies, their motivations and their politics. In the circles that I frequent there tends to be a set of beliefs about who soldiers are, and this often casts our young soldiers as uninformed victims. This attitude really bothers me because it robs soldiers of their agency. We do not have a draft in the United States today. Everyone who enlists does so by her or his own choice. Yes, we have an unjust socio-economic system in America, but it is a mistake to cast soldiers exclusively as victims of this system.
‘I have observed that for certain soldiers joining the military is the adventure of a lifetime, for some it is a way to pay for college and for others there is a deep sense of patriotic duty. Among the many soldiers I have met, there have been right-wing Christian conservatives, poor people, Harvard-educated economic elites, left-leaning democrats, Buddhists, Muslims and environmentalists’.
Tagged: photo essays, portraits
- 5
- 2
RELATED
Armed America portraits by Kyle Cassidy
The Armed America website compiles portraits of the owners of weapons in America. Photographer and writer Kyle Cassidy traveled more than 12,000 miles for more than two years taking pictures of armed Americans in their houses, all the while looking for the answer to the complex question: ‘Why do you own a gun?’ Cassidy’s work has become an item of incalculable value, not only because of its conceptual strength, but also because of the description of the way of living, feeling and thinking of many inhabitants of America. Read more
Rafal Milach’s Black Sea Of Concrete series
Of his series, Black Sea Of Concrete, Polish photographer, Rafal Milach says: ‘Eight photographers from Sputnik Photos collective were asked to cover contemporary Ukraine. Some got particular assignments, but I was free to choose the topic. As I knew I would be working in winter, I decided to go to the Black Sea. I wanted to have raw landscapes and real people. It was the only time of the year when I was able to avoid the tourist facade. The other reason why I picked the Black Sea coast was the fact that, for many years, it was a place where the entire Soviet Union went for summer holidays. Since the Orange Revolution in 2004, Ukraine has been an independent country, but still, very often, people are not able to detach it from its Soviet past. You can feel that strange mixture by the Black Sea coast’. Read more
All you photographers out there, a word up on one of the most prodigious emerging photographers in Australia. And if you’re nursing an inadequacy complex, seeing Nirrimi Hakanson’s folio might propel you to briefly flee your aspirations and think about getting a job at the local supermarket. Hopefully, it will inspire you. The self-taught sixteen-year-old Hakanson has been taking photos on a digital SLR since the age of thirteen, after starting out on a disposable camera. Her distinctive style is ethereal and reminiscent of photo albums filled with enchanted childhood memories. Read more
Also by ALISON ZAVOS
Francesco Giusti’s Congo series
Francesco Giusti lives and works in Rome. Of this photo series, he says, ‘In Congo-Brazzaville, SAPE is an old passion that has never stopped, not even during war years. At the arrival of the French in Congo, the myth of elegance was born among young people working for the settlers. In 1922, Andre Grenard Matsoua, well-known for his resistance to the settlers, was the first Congolese to come back from Paris dressed like a true French “Monsieur”, and greatly admired by all his fellow citizens. Today’s members of the SAPE consider themselves as artists and are respected and admired by the whole community’. Read more
17 year-old photographer Leila Berney
Leila Berney was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and currently lives in Sydney, where she has just graduated high school. She uses Canon EOS 400D and does not yet have Photoshop, but she does have creativity, great ideas and concepts to unleash, and a passion for photography. Read more
Whoop Dee Doo this Halloween in Kansas City
Whoop Dee Doo is a performance art group based out of Kansas City, Missouri, and hosted by Jaimie Warren and Matt Roche, alongside fifteen or so other cast and crew members. They travel internationally to put on random shows that, visually at least, remind me of a G-Rated John Waters movie. The idea of Whoop Dee Doo shows is based upon kid-friendly faux public access TV programs (they are filmed but don’t actually air) that appear highly entertaining for adults as well. Last year, they performed at Deitch Projects’ holiday party, amongst other places. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (2)
Claire Beckett said | 4 January, 2009
To my knowledge women serving in the United States military do not wear headscarves, they wear standard military uniforms. The women in my photographs wearing headscarves are role playing as Iraqi women during training exercises in the US. Some of the women are civilian actors and others are female military personnel. The purpose of the costumes is to make the training feel more realistic.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Hindu, Greek, and Buddhist mythology informs the work of Brooklynite Chitra Ganesh, who makes cryptic, surreal sculptures, murals, installations, multimedia drawings, and photography that draw from Indian comic books, Bollywood posters, and other ephemera of South Asian culture, as well as 19th century portraiture, anime, and the standard touch stones of a globalized psyche. The absurdity and sexuality of her work present the war between modernity, tradition, and nationality over the idea of femininity – her figures are almost entirely female, and watchful, menacing eyes are a common motif in her work. A lot of her stuff is reminiscent of Raymond Pettibon, in a good way. Read more
Castevet are a promising new experimental black metal band out of New York. They have a much more complex and technical approach than other bands of this ilk, revealing post-hardcore and death metal influences as evidenced by guitarist Andrew Hock’s work in deathgrind outfit Biolich and Boston jazz/death/doom band Ehnahre.
Ah, the joys of spending a seven-hour flight three rows up from a chronic snorer with a bad case of indigestion. It was like an episode of Grange Hill was unfolding before my very ears as the upper tier of a shiny new Qantas 747 was subjected to a series of unfavourably boisterous noises emanating from his general direction. Read more
There’s a shop on Smith Street in Melbourne where all young designers go to live. In.cube8r supports all things craft and handmade in Melbourne, running like a long-term market, with the gallery divided into different areas that the artists lease for a tiny cost. There are more than 75 of Melbourne’s top crafters on show and the gallery is always looking for new designers.
Heavy metal and hip-hop are perhaps the most popular forms of rebellion for kids the world over. In Malaysia, metal — particularly black metal — has taken such a strong hold that the Fatwa Council there banned it, fearing that the music would compel listeners to rebel against religion. Contrary to the council’s intentions, black metal is as popular as ever in Malaysia, and is a recognizable cultural touchstone there, as indicated by the above clip from the 2005 film Filem Rock.
You’ve got to give it to the guys at American fashion label, Attus Apparel. Just over a year into business and already they are producing some of the more … ummm … interesting photo shoots out there. Read more
Good Magazine is all about ideas, connecting people and claiming back the media airwaves that have evaporated our creativity and momentum to see change made on our own terms. Read more
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Karen Caldicott’s clay head models
British born, New York-based model maker Karen Caldicott has been making clay heads for all major US publications over the last decade. Read more
There is not a medium that UK illustrator Lizzy Stewart cannot wrap around her little finger to make the most beautiful, whimsical images. Read more
Alex Passapera’s dizzying pen and ink drawings are cascades of images melting into one another, often looking like contorting, mutating creatures spewing blood-like ink splatters. Read more
Yum, yum, cupcakes are fun. These creations are so clever, so arty, so damn bizarre that it would almost be a shame to eat them. Almost! Read more
Almanac Market in Philadelphia is slightly pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for. Offering fantastic bread, cheeses, produce, and cured meats such as sopressata and pepperoni, it was a great pit stop when my band played in town, and definitely more economical and tasty than hitting a greasy spoon for road snacks.
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
This beautiful ultrachrome print on Hahnemuhle rag paper, measuring nine by twelve inches and in a limited edition of just 100, is available for purchase through the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
Lotje said | 31 October, 2008
These pictures are fascinating and beautiful – a question: why are some of the girls wearing the headscarves – is that common among army women serving in Arab countries?