Alan Pogue
Encyclopedia
Alan Pogue is a photojournalist who works exclusively in black-and-white still documentary photography
. His career focuses on social justice and Texas politics from the early 1970s to the present.
Pogue's work is impelled by "unstoppable activism and commitment". His striking images have an unimposing, intimate quality. His travels have taken him around the world, including Cuba, Pakistan, Iraq, Chiapas, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, and Rio Grand valley of Texas.
.
During the 1968 Tet offensive, he endured shelling and witnessed a member of his unit being shot to death, leading him to question the justification of the war. Taking Instamatic snap shots in Vietnam was just the beginning of his career in photography.
Returning to the United States, Pogue enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin to study philosophy. He became the staff photographer for the university's underground paper, The Rag
, published in Austin, Texas, during the '60s and '70s. By living frugally he was free to follow his heart and choose subjects he cared about. He kept his rent low by living in a janitor's closet at the University YMCA, and he found free meals at Les Amis, a cafe that treated him as its artist-in-residence. He survived on wedding and passport work plus his income from the Texas Observer, which paid him $5 a picture.
In 1980 Pogue had his first real photography show at Brazos Books. It was there he met Russell Lee
, a noted photographer from the depression era Farm Security Administration. Lee befriended Pogue and became his mentor. At their last meeting before Lee died in 1986 Lee made Pogue commit to never abandon black-and-white still photography. Pogue promised and has kept his word.
A 1972 photograph documented the struggle of women and reproductive freedom. It shows a woman in the University YMCA on the phone, providing birth control and abortion information. That woman later helped persuade Sarah Weddington
to take on the landmark Roe v. Wade
case.
During 1974, Pogue's lens captured civil rights protests on Austin's east side, where Brown Berets
led hundreds of marchers to the police station to protest killings of Mexican American and African American youths by the police. In 1982 he again documented a demonstration, this time after an Mexican American youth was killed by Dallas police.
His interest in social justice organizations grew and they became both the subject of his documentary photography and his politics. He used showings of his photography to speak about social injustice. His 1979 "The Short-Handled Hoe" from Hidalgo, Texas exposed the cruelty of growers forcing field workers to bend over solely to discern whether they were working. He documented the work of the United Farm Workers, and photographed its leaders, Cesar Chavez
and Dolores Huerta
. Pogue provided a 1993 photograph titled 'Farmworker Women' to support the National Center for Farmworker Health. The 'Migrant Clinicians Network' is a beneficiary of Pogue's support.
Pogue used his photography to document the plight of prisoners held in the Texas state prison system. His 'Photographs from prison' supports the work of Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) a grassroots organization of Texas origin. He has chronicled inmates sitting on Texas' death row. His photographs appear in 'Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates' by Antonio Antonio Renaud.
When members of the Christian Peacemaker Team chained themselves to a house in the West Bank in 1998, attempting to prevent its demolition by Israeli forces, Pogue preserved the moment on film. In Jerusalem, his camera found members of Bat Shalom
's Women in Black, while they protested the occupation of Palestine.
During the embargo of Iraq following the 1991 first Gulf War, Pogue went to Iraq, despite a State Department ban on travel there. Near Basra he photographed an Iraqi girl, Asraa' Mizyad, whose arm was severed by fragment from a U.S. cruise missile. This image is among Pogue's most well known. He made five trips to Iraq with Veterans For Peace
between 1998 and 2004.
, Sissy Farenthold, Barbara Jordan
, Molly Ivins
, Ann Richards
, Jim Hightower
, and George Bush
. These photographs provide an intimate look at their humanity and remind the viewer of their essential qualities. For example, his photograph of then-Governor George Bush, shows him with his cheeks puffed out in a classic expression of exasperation.
A long time member of Veterans for Peace
, Pogue has used his photography to support the organization.
Pogue is a staff photographer for the Texas Observer in Austin, Texas, starting there in 1971. He continues his work at the Texas Center for Documentary Photography in Austin and supports the causes of justice that have been the core of his documentary photograph career.
Documentary photography
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit...
. His career focuses on social justice and Texas politics from the early 1970s to the present.
Pogue's work is impelled by "unstoppable activism and commitment". His striking images have an unimposing, intimate quality. His travels have taken him around the world, including Cuba, Pakistan, Iraq, Chiapas, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, and Rio Grand valley of Texas.
Early years
At the age of nine, Pogue had a vivid and detailed experience, when a mental picture of a street scene was imprinted in his mind, as if a photograph had been taken. Later, as a young chaplain headed to serve in the Vietnam War, his mother gave him a Kodak Instamatic. She asked him to send her pictures because she knew he wasn't going to write. Disillusioned with the US Army Chaplain Corp he was assigned to, he volunteered as a front-line medic, with the 198th Light Infantry Brigade. This took him to the front lines, providing ample opportunity for taking pictures. These snapshots of G.I.s and Vietnamese piqued his interest and became the impetus for his career in documentary photographyDocumentary photography
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit...
.
During the 1968 Tet offensive, he endured shelling and witnessed a member of his unit being shot to death, leading him to question the justification of the war. Taking Instamatic snap shots in Vietnam was just the beginning of his career in photography.
Returning to the United States, Pogue enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin to study philosophy. He became the staff photographer for the university's underground paper, The Rag
The Rag
The Rag was an underground paper published in Austin, Texas from 1966-1977. The sixth member of the Underground Press Syndicate, The Rag was one of the most influential of the early underground papers, known for its unique blend of radical politics, alternative culture and humor.- Early history...
, published in Austin, Texas, during the '60s and '70s. By living frugally he was free to follow his heart and choose subjects he cared about. He kept his rent low by living in a janitor's closet at the University YMCA, and he found free meals at Les Amis, a cafe that treated him as its artist-in-residence. He survived on wedding and passport work plus his income from the Texas Observer, which paid him $5 a picture.
In 1980 Pogue had his first real photography show at Brazos Books. It was there he met Russell Lee
Russell Lee (photographer)
Russell Lee was an American photographer and photojournalist.Lee had trained as a chemical engineer, and in the fall of 1936 became a member of the team of photographers assembled under Roy Stryker for the federally sponsored Farm Security Administration documentation project...
, a noted photographer from the depression era Farm Security Administration. Lee befriended Pogue and became his mentor. At their last meeting before Lee died in 1986 Lee made Pogue commit to never abandon black-and-white still photography. Pogue promised and has kept his word.
Documenting social justice
Pogue found the University of Texas student protests against the Vietnam War a natural subject in 1970. He also documented active-duty soldiers from Fort Hood, gathering in front of a G.I. coffeehouse, prior to demonstrating against the war in Kileen, Texas. This led to a lifetime of photography that captures striking images of intimate human conditions, with an unwavering eye. His work focuses on social justice, and spans geographies from Cuba to Iraq.A 1972 photograph documented the struggle of women and reproductive freedom. It shows a woman in the University YMCA on the phone, providing birth control and abortion information. That woman later helped persuade Sarah Weddington
Sarah Weddington
Sarah Ragle Weddington is an American attorney and lecturer from Texas who gained worldwide fame when she and Linda Coffee represented "Jane Roe" in the landmark Roe v. Wade case in the United States Supreme Court.-Family and education:She is the daughter of Lena Catherine and Rev...
to take on the landmark Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
case.
During 1974, Pogue's lens captured civil rights protests on Austin's east side, where Brown Berets
Brown Berets
The Brown Berets is a Chicano nationalist activist group of young Mexican Americans that emerged during the Chicano Movement in the late 1960s and remains active to the present day. The group was seen as part of the Third Movement for Liberation. The Brown Berets focus on community organizing...
led hundreds of marchers to the police station to protest killings of Mexican American and African American youths by the police. In 1982 he again documented a demonstration, this time after an Mexican American youth was killed by Dallas police.
His interest in social justice organizations grew and they became both the subject of his documentary photography and his politics. He used showings of his photography to speak about social injustice. His 1979 "The Short-Handled Hoe" from Hidalgo, Texas exposed the cruelty of growers forcing field workers to bend over solely to discern whether they were working. He documented the work of the United Farm Workers, and photographed its leaders, Cesar Chavez
César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
and Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta
Dolores C. Huerta is the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO , and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Early life:...
. Pogue provided a 1993 photograph titled 'Farmworker Women' to support the National Center for Farmworker Health. The 'Migrant Clinicians Network' is a beneficiary of Pogue's support.
Pogue used his photography to document the plight of prisoners held in the Texas state prison system. His 'Photographs from prison' supports the work of Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) a grassroots organization of Texas origin. He has chronicled inmates sitting on Texas' death row. His photographs appear in 'Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates' by Antonio Antonio Renaud.
When members of the Christian Peacemaker Team chained themselves to a house in the West Bank in 1998, attempting to prevent its demolition by Israeli forces, Pogue preserved the moment on film. In Jerusalem, his camera found members of Bat Shalom
Bat Shalom
Bat Shalom is one of the organizations of the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace. Bat Shalom is a feminist grassroots organization of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli women working together towards peace, a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, respect for human rights, and an equal...
's Women in Black, while they protested the occupation of Palestine.
During the embargo of Iraq following the 1991 first Gulf War, Pogue went to Iraq, despite a State Department ban on travel there. Near Basra he photographed an Iraqi girl, Asraa' Mizyad, whose arm was severed by fragment from a U.S. cruise missile. This image is among Pogue's most well known. He made five trips to Iraq with Veterans For Peace
Veterans for Peace
Veterans For Peace is a United States organization founded in 1985. Made up of male and female US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and other conflicts, as well as peacetime veterans, the group works to promote alternatives to war.-Foundation:The...
between 1998 and 2004.
Notable Texans
His lens captured many well known Texans, including, John Henry FaulkJohn Henry Faulk
John Henry Faulk from Austin, Texas was a storyteller and radio show host. His successful lawsuit against blacklisters of the entertainment industry helped to bring an end to the Hollywood blacklist.-Early life:...
, Sissy Farenthold, Barbara Jordan
Barbara Jordan
Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician who was both a product and a leader, of the Civil Rights movement. She was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first southern black female elected to the United States House of Representatives...
, Molly Ivins
Molly Ivins
Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins was an American newspaper columnist, populist, political commentator, humorist and author.-Early life and education:Ivins was born in Monterey, California, and raised in Houston, Texas...
, Ann Richards
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
, Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower
James Allen "Jim" Hightower is an American syndicated columnist, activist and author.-Life and career:Born in Denison, Texas, Hightower came from a working class background. He worked his way through college as assistant general manager of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and later landed a spot as...
, and George Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. These photographs provide an intimate look at their humanity and remind the viewer of their essential qualities. For example, his photograph of then-Governor George Bush, shows him with his cheeks puffed out in a classic expression of exasperation.
Present
Pogue won The Austin Chronicle's Best Photographer reader's poll six times and is the 2009 Best All Around Winner in the Media category. In 1983 Pogue received the Dobie Paisano Fellowship, recognizing his writings related to Texas.A long time member of Veterans for Peace
Veterans for Peace
Veterans For Peace is a United States organization founded in 1985. Made up of male and female US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and other conflicts, as well as peacetime veterans, the group works to promote alternatives to war.-Foundation:The...
, Pogue has used his photography to support the organization.
Pogue is a staff photographer for the Texas Observer in Austin, Texas, starting there in 1971. He continues his work at the Texas Center for Documentary Photography in Austin and supports the causes of justice that have been the core of his documentary photograph career.