Thomas Hawk is defending himself from Jill Greenberg’s attacks and threats of court action because, in his opinion, what she is doing is abusing children.
Her photos capture emotional children who are distraught and frightened. Tears run down their faces, hands are held to eyes to hide tears. She apparently works them up to this state herself. Who would do that to a child?
She is taking babies, toddlers under three years old, stripping them of their clothes and then provoking them to various states of emotional distress, anger, rage etc. — so that she can then take photos of them this way to “illustrate her personal beliefs.”
Well done Thomas for standing up to her.
16 replies on “A Photo – how far would you go?”
Totally agree with you and Thomas Hawk, just concerned that by viewing the photos I am increasing the traffic on the gallery site and the hits on the photo sites. By the way , I enjoy your photos of Blarney, it’s also my neighbourhood.
Her husband said “this is the EXACT technique used in ads and movies and TV.” Well that makes it alright then! Art? Do me a favour….
That is so f***ed up. I’m surprised no-one has pressed charges…
Absolutly the stupidest thing I have ever seen!
Why would someone want to torment these little children like that?
I thought that in study Psychology I was over all the sick individuals that I could ever encounter, but this bitch sick person had proved me wrong. WOW, in what mind, can a NORMAL person take an innocent child and abuse it that way???
I am study to be a psychologist and truly, this goes BEYOND any SICK INDIVIDUAL. I love kids and in fact my husband and I have a little four years old boy and I will NEVER, EVER take my precious little one to this SICK MINDED ANIMAL, with the excuse of every animal in this world.
In my believe, this person need HELP, SOS! HELP! and if she does not get the help needed, then she will continue hurting innocent victims.
I believe that this is a perfect case for CPS and someone out there shall have to be responsible to turn this case over to the Children Protection Services ASAP! Before it gets any further.
I believe that this so our of mind person shall have her own children taken away as well as all the other people who are willing to take their own child to this kind of so call….. torture. You cannot care for a little one and do that to him or her.
THAT IS DISPICTABLE and someone must take charge and clean the TRASH out in this country before it piles up.
So… how many times a day or hour can she do this stunt to a kid before you would call it abuse? I mean, if it’s not mildly abusive to do it once, or twice or so in a ten minute session… What is the limit on a stranger teasing a half naked kid and MAKING them cry? I assume here that the shirt being off (she admits herself that that in and of itself makes the kids uncomfortable) is a tactic she uses to increase the child’s vulnerability.
She, in my mind, is a beast and a brute plain and simple. The only real thing that will be done to force justice on this wantnabe nazi fra, is that when these children reach the correct age, their lawyers will strip little miss artist of all her worldly possessions in a beautiful class action lawsuit.
I have no doubt that there is a lawyer reading about this case and gathering evidence as I write this. Timing will be crucial… She must be worth millions, and they must take it all to make sure that it really hurts…and that she cries.
Abuse is in the mind of allienated people when it comes to these photographies. How can images of a child expressing emotions be so disturbing? Can’t you see all the misinterpretation is just in your mind? Can’t you see they are just kids crying for a lollypop? Why kids showing the chest can be so humiliating and abusive to you? And the photographer’s translation for those emotions were political. People that interpretated this pictures as sexual, abusive, or whatever should have their minds checked, because they are serious threats to their community. People like that mirrored their own sickness on those images, this is something simple to explain by the most narrow minded psicanalist.
What’s more disturbing to you? Images of children crying or being sexually abused as we see now on movies? They call that art, real life, and no one complains.
What the hell is going on with this world?
[…] Jill Greenberg’s infamous photos of children crying and upset are in today’s Sunday Times magazine in the article “Taking candy from a baby”. It’s unfortunate that such a reputable publication chose to publish the photos and I can only imagine the horrified response from parents as they sat down to breakfast with the newspaper this morning. […]
To all those people who have criticised and condemned Jill Greenberg, I want to say these four words “GET A FREAKING LIFE!” These photos are not child abuse, they are simply of children expressing strong emotion. We seem to be so obsessed with cotton-wooling kids and making the world a nice sugar-candied cutesy wootsey place. It doesn’t exist. Kids are multi-dimensional beings who are capable of a variety of emotions, and they need to be taught that the world can be a harsh place and to learn to live with it. Not everything in life is fair, and sometimes things don’t make much sense such as why would an adult give them a lollipop then take it away. did anyone ever complain about that photographer who photographed the naked Vietnamese girl who lost her family in a napalm bomb fallout? No? So why pick on Jill?!
A wise man (whose name escapes me), once said “Never pick the thorns from a child’s roses”. Pain and frustration are what makes us grow as human beings, and it’s best to learn while you are young.
Having said that, I despise child pornography, and anyone who photographs kids in a sexually compromising way deserves to be castrated rather than waste the taxpayer’s money sitting in a jail cell.
I don’t think anyone who’s ever really been physically or sexually abused will call these abuse. A professional photographer is able to capture an image within seconds- and I think the point in these has been the exact first reaction. These children for sure have not been scarred for life.
Secondly it’s valuable research on human behaviour- and I bet every single person has these sort of images in their home photoalbum- do you call yourself a torturer?
I saw the pictures and in a twisted way, they are beautiful. But what sickens me is she takes their clothes and forces them to cry…that right there is abuse you sick bastards. If she had taken pictures on the street, you know, catching a real life moment…it would have been truly beautiful…I can’t put my finger on it..but these pictures disgust me…Why would a woman strip children and force them to cry, just to capture “raw emotion”?? Please woman…there are other ways..You are pretty sick and I think you should find a new subject…by the way I am 15 and I know my stuff…
I find it hard to beleive that so many of the comments here are irrate about these photos. How about being irrate about the current state of affairs this countries political regime has got us into. That IS what these images were created in reference to and the unnecessary killing, dangerous terrorist climate, and stripping away of freedoms/rights is what you better be apalled at. A child crying over having candy taken away is NOT abuse. Most children/babies cry over any number of things day in and day out, from not getting their way to wanting food now. These are obviously staged sessions in a studio so if you stop to think about it (goddess forbid…) i am sure the parents of these little ones were fully aprised of what would occur. Furthermore, children around this age group have little to no identification with sexuality in the context that older children, teens and adults do. Their nudity is pure (and even barely seen in these photos). Any sense of these pictures having a sexual content is completely in the eye/mind of the behilder. Therefore it is they whom have the issue and perhaps even they that should think about some serious therapy!
I think that’s what this women is doing! Even though i don’t know that much about child abuse right at the second i am still researching. i think that the father should just take the children and run! No lie! I thought that was pretty stupid. I still don’t understand how people can abuse their children.
it’s one thing to find a child crying already and snap a photo. but it’s unfair to work them up to this state. i feel like that can seriously hurt them. looking at these photos, i feel that they are SERIOUSLY being tourtured and this is wrong. it’s BULLYING.
When I first saw Jil’s images I was amazed at her artistry and ability. As a professional photographer what I saw was truly moving, raw unadulterated human emotion captured for all time. The images are truly disturbing and that was Jill’s intent because the state of the world is truly disturbing and these images are a wake up call to society to do something besides leave the mess that man has created to there children. If children could understand what they were inheriting I imagine these images would be a perfect representation of those emotions. It takes alot of guts to stand up for what is right and to do something about it. I imagine that all the people who have seen these images and commented on how sick they think Jill is should stop and think about the bigger picture. She took a lolly pop away from a young child to make a statement about what their future will be like if nothing changes. I think the real problem is people who say, give the lolly pop back and let those children deal with the mess we’ve created because we don’t want to do what’s right if it disturbs us or worse yet, we have to admit we’re the real problem.
The truth of the matter is children cry when they get they’re pictures taken just because they’re scared, but millions of parents march their kids to Walmart each year and tortcher them so they can get they’re picture taken with Santa because they think it’s worth it, only to cover that picture up next year. As for all you self-righteous lenchmen, I wonder if you use shampoo? Do you ever give thought to how many rabbits are literally tortchered by having various forms of shampoos poured in there eye’s so that yours won’t be irritated when you buy it at Walmart? Or how many childern were maimed or killed when the bombs were droping on Bagdad so you could drive your SUV’s to the mall and buy cheap clothes made by child slave labor in Equador? Or how about little Billy’s soccer ball made in Afganistan by children who make .05 cents per soccer ball so they can buy there fredom back in ten years?
The truth is we are the problem, not Jill’s pictures.
everyone has the right to their own opinion but to form alligations like peadofila! well thats truly rediculous. im studying photography at a level at the minute and this is a perfect example for my sketch book for how narrow minded our world is growing…a crying child aqnd the first thing people think of is abuse! if she was really abusing these children would she publish the pictures. No one likes to see a child upset but crocodile tears and strop tears from these children ….well they arent enjuring pain it was a lollipop for christ sake…..and resulting in BEAUTIFUL REAL images i think jills a creative genious. The pictures have also been photoshopped in some way shape or form children dont glow like that so that could have easily enhanced the intensity of emotion.
these pictures are awesome , a work of art . The twisted people are those who cant appreciate this.