I am a hard headed woman who travels the road as a photojournalist. Frequently I work behind closed doors.. . I carry a little box under my wing. A camera is an indestructible weapon for giving life - not taking it away.I don't condone violence except in the act of self defense.As a photographer I've seen couples loving and fighting and dying from abuse.I believe that people who create fear are dangerous. We must look at our enemies with the eyes wide open... the way of the gods.Domestic violence kills everything I live to embrace.Photography runs like a bull in my family. My dad was a healer with a knife and scapel.
With a camera he was an artist. My brothers Peter and Louie have great power in their hands too.My mom is a healer. She (like Hilary Clinton) did not desert the one man who shared her bed when he did her wrong. She tried but she saw he wouldn't survive without her. My dad is "bi-polar". It is the white elephant in my family.Recently I was recruited by the US Army in Maryland to give a show on the subject of domestic violence at the military base in Aberdeen Proving Ground.The army wanted something special for October's Domestic Violence Awareness month. The US Army motivated me to jump off the wall.
After 470 international events, the Living with the Enemy exhibitions show no battle fatigue. My job is to present reality so that we can start to exchange fear and depression with seeds of self understanding.
After intense months of preparation we flew in my pickup truck to Aberdeen, Maryland. The crew was Eva Green, Tomeu Coll, and Rosana Rodriguez.We gave the army a sneak peak of my documentary about kids and how domestic violence affects them.We bought Living with the Enemy (Aperture 1991) books and new Exploding Sky Worldwide custom made TShirts with my photograph of a young boy telling his father "I hate you for hitting my mother" as the police arrest him. That boy's anger towards his father says so much and that's the power of a photograph.The feather in the cap of the Aberdeen Proving Ground event was a presentation by Rosana Rodriguez. Six years ago Rosana lost her God given right to be the mother to her nine year old daughter. How did it happen? Rosana has never used drugs. She's never been a drinker. She never committed a crime. She never abused anyone. She is educated and honest.
Her nightmare began when she left the isolated world of her abuser. He warned Rosana "If you leave me you will regret it for the rest of your life." Her husband was way too smart to use a lethal weapon. Instead he got the NYC family court system to help him kill Rosana. The audience was in tears after she finished telling her story.At the end, Col. Wright, a mighty good man pulled a heavy bronze coin from his pocket and handed it to me. "Donna, you made a difference with us today", said Col. Wright.That's why I'm glowing out in the field surrounded by armored tanks.Thanks Aberdeen Proving Ground.
October 9, 2006For buy the book, please send a message to
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