In my industry, we believe that images can change the world. Okay, we're naive, we're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The truth is that we know that the images themselves don't change the world, but we're also aware that, since the beginning of photography, images have provoked reactions in people, and those reactions have caused change to happen.
Nire industrian irudiek mundua alda dezaketela sinesten dugu. Ados, naif-ak gara, dizdirak itxutu gaitu, koitadu hutsak gara. Egia da badakigula irudiek beraiek bakarrik ez dutela mundua aldatzen, baina aldi berean badakigu, argazkilaritza hasi zenetik, irudiek jendearengan erreakzio batzuk sortu dituztela, eta erreakzio hauek bai, hauek gauzak aldatu dituzte.
So let's begin with a group of images. I'd be extremely surprised if you didn't recognize many or most of them. They're best described as iconic: so iconic, perhaps, they're cliches. In fact, they're so well-known that you might even recognize them in a slightly or somewhat different form.
Beraz, has gaitezen irudi talde batekin. Harritu egingo ninduke erakutsiko ditudan zenbait ez bazenituzte ezagutuko. Ikoniko gisa deskribatu izan dira, hain ikonikoak, non askotan beharbada klixe ere badiren. Egia esan, hain ezagunak dira forma aldaketa txiki batekin ere ezagutuko dituzuela.
(Laughter)
(Barreak)
But I think we're looking for something more. We're looking for something more. We're looking for images that shine an uncompromising light on crucial issues, images that transcend borders, that transcend religions, images that provoke us to step up and do something -- in other words, to act. Well, this image you've all seen. It changed our view of the physical world. We had never seen our planet from this perspective before. Many people credit a lot of the birth of the environmental movement to our seeing the planet like this for the first time -- its smallness, its fragility.
Baina uste dut beste zerbaiten bila gabiltzala. Zeozer gehiagoren bila, Zenbait gai kruzialetan argia islatzen duten irudien bila gabiltza, muga eta erlijioak gainditu dituzten irudiak, zutik jartzera edo zerbait egitera probokatzen gaituzten irudiak, beste hitz batzuekin esateko,aktuatzera behartzen gaituztenak. Beno, irudi hau guztiek ikusi duzue Munduaren irudi fisikoaren gure ikuspegia aldatu zuen. Lehenago ez genuen sekula mundua perspektiba honetatik ikusi. Jende askoren ustez ingurugiroa zaintzeko mugimendua planeta horrela ikustean sortu zen, bere txikitasunean, bere hauskortasunean.
Forty years later, this group, more than most, are well aware of the destructive power that our species can wield over our environment. And at last, we appear to be doing something about it. This destructive power takes many different forms. For example, these images taken by Brent Stirton in the Congo. These gorillas were murdered, some would even say crucified, and unsurprisingly, they sparked international outrage. Most recently, we've been tragically reminded of the destructive power of nature itself with the recent earthquake in Haiti.
40 urte beranduago, talde hau, beste asko baino hobeto konturatu da gure espezieak ingurugiroan duen indar suntsitzaileaz. Eta azkenean, badirudi zerbait egiten ari garela gai honekin. Indar suntsitzaile honek forma ezberdinak hartzen ditu. Adibidez, Brent Stirtonek Kongon hartutako argazki hauetan hildako gorilak ikus daitezke, batzuk gurutziltzatuak daudela esan liteke, eta espero zitekeen bezala, nazioarteko haserrea eragin zuten. Orain gutxi, naturak duen indar suntsitzailea gogorarazi digu Haitiko lurrikarak ere.
Well, I think what is far worse is man's destructive power over man. Samuel Pisar, an Auschwitz survivor, said, and I'll quote him, "The Holocaust teaches us that nature, even in its cruelest moments, is benign in comparison with man, when he loses his moral compass and his reason."
Hau baino okerragoa da nire ustez ordea, gizakiak duen beste gizakiekiko duen indar suntsitzailea. Samuel Pisarrek, Auschwitz-etik bizirik ateratzea lortu zutenetako batek, hau esan zuen: “Holokaustoak irakasten digu natura, bere momenturik krudelenetan ere, oso xaloa dela konparatuta gizakiarekin honek moralaren iparrorratza eta arrazoia galtzen dituenean batez ere".
There's another kind of crucifixion. The horrifying images from Abu Ghraib as well as the images from Guantanamo had a profound impact. The publication of those images, as opposed to the images themselves, caused a government to change its policies. Some would argue that it is those images that did more to fuel the insurgency in Iraq than virtually any other single act. Furthermore, those images forever removed the so-called moral high ground of the occupying forces.
Bada beste gurutziltzatze mota bat ere. Abu Ghraibeko irudi beldurgarriek, baita Guantanamokoek ere, eragin handia izan zuten. Irudi hauek argitaratzeak, irudiek erakusten dutenaren aurka ere, gobernu bat bere politikak aldatzera eraman zuten. Batzuek defendatu izan dute irudi hauek izan zirela beste edozein ekintzak baino indar gehiago eman ziotenak insurgentziari Iraken. Areago, irudi horiek okupazio indarren argumentu moral guztiak suntsitu zituzten.
Let's go back a little. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Vietnam War was basically shown in America's living rooms day in, day out. News photos brought people face to face with the victims of the war: a little girl burned by napalm, a student killed by the National Guard at Kent State University in Ohio during a protest. In fact, these images became the voices of protest themselves.
Jo dezagun pixka bat atzera. 1960.eko eta 1970.eko hamarkadetan, Vietnamgo Guda Ameriketako egongeletan erakusten zuten egun batean bai, eta bestean ere bai. Argazki berriek jendea gudako biktimekin aurrez aurre jartzera eraman zuten: napalm-arekin erretako neskato txiki bat, Guardia Nazionalak protestetan hildako ikasle bat Ohioko Kent Estatu Unibertsitatean. Esan daiteke irudi hauek protestaren beraren ahots bilakatu zirela.
Now, images have power to shed light of understanding on suspicion, ignorance, and in particular -- I've given a lot of talks on this but I'll just show one image -- the issue of HIV/AIDS. In the 1980s, the stigmatization of people with the disease was an enormous barrier to even discussing or addressing it. A simple act, in 1987, of the most famous woman in the world, the Princess of Wales, touching an HIV/AIDS infected baby did a great deal, especially in Europe, to stop that. She, better than most, knew the power of an image.
Orain, irudiek ulermenaren argia islatzeko indarra dute zenbait susmo ezjakintasun eta batez ere, hitzaldi eman izan ditut honen inguruan baina soilik argazki bat erakutsiko dizuet, GIB/HIESaren kontuan. 1980.eko hamarkadan eritasun hau zuten pertsonen estigmatizazioa barrera handia zen baita arazoaz hitz egiteko ere. Ekintza soil batek, 1987. urtean, munduko emakumerik ezagunenak, Galesko Printzesak GIB/HIESak kutsatutako haurra ukitzen ikusteak eragin handia izan zuen, batez ere Europan. Berak inork baino hobeto zekien irudiak duen indarraz.
So when we are confronted by a powerful image, we all have a choice: We can look away, or we can address the image. Thankfully, when these photos appeared in The Guardian in 1998, they put a lot of focus and attention and, in the end, a lot of money towards the Sudan famine relief efforts. Did the images change the world? No, but they had a major impact. Images often push us to question our core beliefs and our responsibilities to each other. We all saw those images after Katrina, and I think for millions of people they had a very strong impact. And I think it's very unlikely that they were far from the minds of Americans when they went to vote in November 2008.
Beraz, irudi indartsu baten aurrean gaudenean, bi aukera ditugu. Begirada kentzea, edo irudia aztertzea. Eskerrak, 1998an the Guardian egunkarian argazki hauek argitaratu zirenean, atentzio handia jarri zuten hauen gainean, eta azkenerako diru asko ere bai, Sudango goseteari aurreko egiteko esfortzuan. Irudiok mundua aldatu al zuten? Ez, baina eragin handia izan zuten. Irudiek badute gure sinesmenik sakonenak eta besteekiko ditugun respontsabilitateak dudan jartzeko indarra. Denok ikusi genituen irudiok Katrina hurakana ostean, eta uste dut milioi askorentzat eragin handia izan zutela, eta uste dut amerikarrak 2008ko azaroan bozka ematera joan zirenean oraindik beren buruetatik oso urrun ez zeudela.
Unfortunately, some very important images are deemed too graphic or disturbing for us to see them. I'll show you one photo here, and it's a photo by Eugene Richards of an Iraq War veteran from an extraordinary piece of work, which has never been published, called War Is Personal. But images don't need to be graphic in order to remind us of the tragedy of war. John Moore set up this photo at Arlington Cemetery. After all the tense moments of conflict in all the conflict zones of the world, there's one photograph from a much quieter place that haunts me still, much more than the others.
Zoritxarrez, oso irudi garrantzitsuak grafikoegiak dira edo beraiek ikustea oso deserosoa da guretzat. Argazki bat erakutsiko dizuet Eugene Richardsek Irakeko Beterano bati ateratako argazkia da, ikaragarrizko lana da sekula publikatu gabea, “Guda Pertsonala da” izenekoa. Baina irudiek ez dute zertan grafiko izan guri tragedia bat gogorarazteko. John Moore-k Arlingtongo hilerrian atera zuen argazki hau. Gatazka baten tentsio-momentu guztien ostean, munduko gatazka-eremu guztietan bada argazki bat, askoz ere leku ixilago batean atera eta hunkitu egiten nauena, beste guztiak baino gehiago.
Ansel Adams said, and I'm going to disagree with him, "You don't take a photograph, you make it." In my view, it's not the photographer who makes the photo, it's you. We bring to each image our own values, our own belief systems, and as a result of that, the image resonates with us. My company has 70 million images. I have one image in my office. Here it is. I hope that the next time you see an image that sparks something in you, you'll better understand why, and I know that speaking to this audience, you'll definitely do something about it.
Ansel Adamsek esan zuen, eta ez nator berarekin bat, “Ez duzu argazkia ateratzen, egin egiten duzu”. Nire ustez ez da argazkilaria argazkia egiten duena, zuek baizik. Argazki bakoitzari geure balioak eransten dizkiogu, gure sinesmen sistema, eta horren ondorioa da, irudiak geure baitan jarraitzea, Gure konpainiak 70 milioi irudi ditu. Nik bat daukat nire bulegoan. Hauxe da. Espero dut zerbait esaten dizuen irudi bat ikusten duzuen hurrengoan, ulertuko duzuela hobeto zergatik den hori, eta jakin badakit, audientzia honi hitz eginez, horren inguruan zerbait egingo duzuela.
And thank you to all the photographers.
Eta milesker argazkilari guztiei.
(Applause)
(Txaloak)