capital punishment panel discussion – event poster – unpublished

art director: rob story, writer: carter pagel, photography: unknown photographer (unusable archive photo)

yes, well, this is one you might want to skip if you’re squeamish. i first saw this picture in hollywood (in a book on melrose avenue) during my first trip – in 1992. obviously, it stuck with me. when the opportunity to create this poster came up i immediately thought of this image and tried with all of my might to persuade the owners to allow us to use it. unfortunately the subject matter of the event is so polarizing, and (admittedly) the design is so one-sided, that they couldn’t bring themselves to agree. but here’s the piece as it would’ve existed without the burden of politics. one thing that i’ve always wondered about this photo: what were the circumstances under which it was taken? it’s certainly not “staged.” can you imagine walking through a field and encountering this scene? then having the balls to ask the party to stop so you could take their picture? i do know that it was taken in the 30s in the philippines.