Photos from the UN

Here is a link to the photos of presidents by Platon- at the UN conference this fall...

http://www.newyorker.com/online/multimedia/2009/12/07/091207_audioslideshow_platon

I found this to be a shocking and excellent example of image culture. Each of these presidents/leaders is photographed in exactly the same way- most of them are at ease. When I first went through, I looked at the pictures and thought they were dignitaries, UN workers, but until I recognized the president of Afghanistan, I was going along under that assumption. The images betrayed me. Or did they? Maybe they spoke some truth about these men and women that I would never imagine to be true. So many political images are propaganda and I have beliefs based on these images presented to me.