Archive for January, 2018

Masatoshi Tsunenari

Thursday, January 25th, 2018

..January 2018.. ..Nagasaki..

Today I received the sad news that atomic bomb survivor Mr. Masatoshi Tsunenari passed away a couple of months ago. He was 89 years old.

I hadn’t seen Mr. Tsunenari since July 2010. He was a soft spoken person with a lot of compassion.

I will always be thankful that he agreed to meet with Mrs. Haruyo Nihei, a Tokyo fire bombing survivor, who wanted to tell her experience of surviving the fire bombing of Tokyo to an atomic bomb survivor. It was an amazing moment to see them listen and exchange stories. Tragic moments in time that changed their lives instantly.

Seeing Mr. Tsunenari listen to and accept Mrs. Nihei’s story was moving. I believe it was a great feeling of relief to Ms. Nihei to be able to share her experience.

This is there portrait I took near the hypocenter where the atomic bomb was detonated in Nagasaki. It’s also in my book From Above and I will show it next time the exhibition returns to Nagasaki.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in From Above, Hibakusha, Nagasaki, Tokyo Fire Bombings | No Comments »

Fragile

Friday, January 19th, 2018

..January 2018.. ..Dresden..

A cold winter sunset along the Elbe with the distant lights of the old town descending to an edge. The frost blue sky matches my everlasting feeling of being lost. Is home there or anywhere? I have a home but is it home when your feelings have always felt transient?

You make a home to only feel like it isn’t a home. Then you search again for the next nest hoping it will soothe the inside.

Kurt Vonnegut walked along the right bank of the Elbe before sunrise then back after sunset to dig the dead out of the cellars after the old town was pillaged with fire. Did the same fierce blue follow him back to the Slaughterhouse after each hellacious dig?

Another solitary walk in my lifetime of comfortless walks. It’s not what they told me growing old would feel like. I’ve made mistakes that boomerang. A tear stained loveless evening heard by only one.

Tags:
Posted in Fragile | No Comments »

Fragile

Sunday, January 14th, 2018

..January 2018..

What if my defining moment was mediocre?

Tags:
Posted in Fragile | No Comments »

Prints for Sale

Sunday, January 7th, 2018

I have a couple of exhibition prints remaining from a recent gallery show. All prints are hand printed C-prints limited editions of 5, signed, numbered and include an artists certificate.

Please contact me at paule.saviano@gmail.com if your interested.

16×20 inches. 2 Remaining $275
20X24 inches. 1 Remaining $325
30×40 inches. 2 Remaining $500

There are 11×14 inch prints, that are an open edition for $100.

fountains1

fountains2

Tags: ,
Posted in Paris | No Comments »

Takeshi Minekawa

Friday, January 5th, 2018

..December 2017.. ..Nagasaki..

Photographing hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) Takeshi Minekawa along the stream that flows near the hypocenter.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in From Above, Hibakusha, Nagasaki | No Comments »

From Above

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

..December 2017.. ..Nagasaki..
Early morning photograph of hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) Takeshi Minekawa along the stream that flows near the hypocenter.

This was the first place I had been to when I arrived in Nagasaki during September 2008. I crossed over the stone paths in the water and found my way to the hypocenter where the atomic bomb was detonated over the city. In the hours and days after detonation the water in the streams overflowed because dead bodies were piling up, blocking the water from flowing down stream. The injured, dying of thirst, would go to the stream to drink water and usually die on the spot.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in From Above, Hibakusha, Nagasaki | No Comments »

Lilli Hornig

Monday, January 1st, 2018

..January 2018.. ..New York..

I recently found out that Lilli Hornig passed away on November 17th, 2017. She was a Manhattan Project scientist who worked on the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki.

I photographed her in 2014 when she was already frail. We had a long conversation about the development of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb and her discussion to sign a letter urging the US government not to drop the bomb on a populated area. The petition made no difference in the US government’s decision.

The other fascinating part of our discussion was her interaction with fellow Manhattan Project colleague Klaus Fuchs, who was later discovered as a Soviet spy who relayed vital information about US nuclear program.

Below is the portrait I took of Lilli at her home in Rhode Island.

Scan0107

Tags:
Posted in Nagasaki | No Comments »