Horner's Corner

Said and Me

by Chris on Jan.27, 2010, under culture, politics

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All his life, which was blessed with publicity, Edward Said was often photographed. He had a knack for organizing the image, in which he typically appeared as a richly upholstered six-footer, his bold stripes and patterns from a Savile Row tailor, topped by a wavy stand of hair like black whipped cream. The best-known image is very different. In it, the distinguished professor is throwing a stone at an Israeli guardhouse. He rears back to hurl a jagged rock. Behind him, a young man has just thrown his own stone, and the two figures superimposed recall those early multiple-exposure prints of horses running or dancers dancing, images made to show the power of film. This photo evokes the urchins of the Intifada no less than Hector smiting the Myrmidons, because a fortunate accident or the photographer’s wit has posed Said in the heroic diagonal–dear to ancient Greek sculptors. But picture is hardly art for art’s sake. Agence Frances scored an immediate hit, with the photo instantly published around the world, instigating calls for Said’s dismissal from Columbia, with the corresponding passionate rush to his defense, including a long public letter from the University provost. No other photo captures so economically Said’s ability to make you look and think again: a prominent, self-declared Western humanist violently attacks his own civilization at its weakest point.

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