A photo of a young Afghan child swinging from the barrel of a tank gun stretched behind internationally recognized war photographer James Nachtwey ’70 as he shared his experience covering Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s. The talk, which took place Tuesday afternoon, featured photographs chronicling his stay in Kabul before the Taliban wrested control of the city in 1996, as well as his time with the Afghan Northern Alliance, who were fighting the Taliban outside of Kabul.
The photo essay shows Kabul as a “moonscape” ruined by civil war, he said. He captured a school with no chairs or desks, as well as an orthopedic hospital full of Afghan amputees injured by mines still present in the city.
Outside of Kabul, Nachtwey remembered being yards away from a rocket that landed and did not explode while traveling in the desert with a group of militants.
“Vaporized is the word that came to my mind,” Nachtwey said.
His work on the civil war was published in Time Magazine through the decade and helped bring the issue to policy makers’ attention, he said.
Nachtwey said he decided he wanted to be a war photographer at a young age, when he saw photographs of the Vietnam War.
“Our political and military leaders were telling us one thing, but the photographers were telling us another story,” Nachtwey said. “I found the photographers to be more convincing.”
Despite the human sadness and pain he faced taking these photographs, Nachtwey said he kept going because he realized the value of his work.
Being cynical or giving into despair, he said, would be “too easy.”
“I continually see examples where the worst conditions bring out the best in humanity,” he said.
After his talk, Nachtwey said in an interview that he hoped his presentation would give students a sense of empowerment.
“There’s something they can do that could make a difference in the world,” Nachtwey said. “You can really choose your own path.”
Nachtwey, a Provostial Fellow at the College, said he hopes to create a collection of photographs for academic research at Dartmouth.
Although Nachtwey has moved to Hanover for the fellowship, he noted that he has not ended his photojournalism career.
“I’m still very engaged,” he said. “Everything I produce will add dimension and value to the archive here — I will continue my work in the field and my work here.”
Nachtwey has maintained an active connection with Dartmouth since graduating. He spent last year on campus as the first Roth Distinguished Visiting Scholar, was awarded an honorary degree in 2010 and spent time in Hanover as a Montgomery Fellow in 2002.
At the College, Nachtwey studied art history and political science.
Nachtwey was shot at during a violent pre-election protest in Thailand on Feb. 1 while on assignment for Time Magazine. The bullet went through his leg, but Nachtwey was not badly injured and returned to work soon after.
After Nachtwey’s talk, attendees discussed the current state of photography, as well as the features that make a war photograph iconic. People consume images faster because of modern technology, but they may still be able to take in and think about an image, Nachtwey said.
Tausif Noor ’14, who is writing an art history thesis about representations of terrorism, said he attended the lecture to see how Nachtwey documented violence and thrust it into the public sphere.
He said the photographs Nachtwey presented were very powerful.
“We witness a lot of images and sometimes become a little bit desensitized or immune to them,” Noor said. “I think photography still has the power to elicit a powerful emotional response.”
Sandra Miller, a community member who attended the lecture because she had seen Nachtwey speak before, said she was inspired by his work.
Nachtwey has both courage and humanity, she said, calling his work a “real public service.”
Chengetai Mahomva, a Geisel School of Medicine student, said she enjoyed how Nachtwey presented his work, focusing on the historical context for the events in Afghanistan rather than America’s role in the conflict.
Mahomva added that she appreciated how Nachtwey was careful to present his work as reflecting his own experience in Afghanistan.
“It highlights that there is no such thing as authenticity,” she said.
The lecture was held in the Black Family Visual Arts Center and was part of the Times of Crisis lecture series presented by the Gender Research Institute at Dartmouth.
