Powerful in Newseum

Pictures of the Year: 75 Years of the World’s Best Photography is a shocking photography showof award-winning images from the archives of Pictures of the Year International, the prestigious photojournalism competition.

As I walked around the exhibition I was engulfed into it. All the different topics and how they were shot! The topics ranged from athletes to animals, with politics and discrimination in that range. Some of the topics that were talked about I didn’t know, other topics I was well aware of. I wasn’t able to go through the entire exhibition, because every photo was so powerful and I kept looking back at it.

The exhibition is split onto two levels. It is on the very top floor and on the ground floor of the Newseum. The part that was on the top floor was set up in a very small space. There were pictures all over the four walls and a stand in the middle of the room with more pictures on it. The photographs were not categorized in any specific order. It was a kind of kaleidoscope… A lot of light came into the small space from the windows right outside the exhibit. There was also a lot of light coming from windows on the roof.

The part of the exhibition on the ground floor was in a larger room with more photographs. To contrast the other room, this room was very dark. This room also had a theme to most of the photos. They all had to do with political problems all around the world at any time from 1929 to present day. There were pictures from Czechoslovakia during the peaceful protests during the communist era. There were pictures from Syria about the war happening right now. There were pictures from the Vietnam war and how it affected those involved.

The Pictures of the Year exhibition is extremely powerful. Since I went there I have researched many topics that stuck out for me. If you are an activist of any sort or just want to help some problem, go to this exhibit. You will find your inspiration there and you will want to help when you leave.

Photo Credits:
1 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg puts up her fists in mock anticipation of a fight during her 1993 Supreme Court confirmation hearings. (Larry Downing/Newsweek )
2 – Unrest in Baton Rouge. (Jonathan Bachman/REUTERS)