EDDIE ADAMS: SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER

(EDDIE ADAMS – USA)

Esteemed and acclaimed photographer Eddie Adams died in 2004. This exhibition consists of his insightful portraits of courageous leaders, many of whom have suffered torture, imprisonment, and death for their support of human rights. They include: Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Wei Jingsheng, Guillaume Ngefa Atondoko, Maria Teresa Tula, and Dianna Ortiz. In a phrase, they are the best of the best, that is, true role models. Adams won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize and has been the recipient of more than 500 international, national, and local awards. Adams’ earliest pictures, those for which he has been canonized in photographic history, stem from his coverage of the ravages of thirteen wars. In Vietnam alone he participated in more than 150 dangerous missions. In 1968 he famously photographed the Saigon police chief shooting a Vietcong prisoner at point-blank range. In 1977 his photographs of the boat people escaping Vietnam contributed to Congress’ decision to admit 200,000 Vietnamese to America.