STEPHEN BENEDICT

November 2, 2004

To Whom it May Concern,

I have known Martine Barrat and her work almost from the moment she first came to the United States in 1970 and began her unique vision of chronicling contemporary Harlem and the South Bronx through video and photography. I was then Program Officer for the arts at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and, starting in 1973, a member of the Public Media Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. Through the La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, which had brought Ms. Barrat to the this country, I encountered Ms. Barrat and her work and was greatly impressed. I encouraged her to submit a proposal to the National Endowment which, to its great credit, helped launch her extraordinary career. I recall vividly, more than thirty years ago, the startled reactions of the NEA panel of filmmakers, photographers and foundation executives as they looked at Ms. Barrat's submissions, amazed that this recent arrival on our shores could venture into the often dangerous, bombed-out ruin that was then the South Bronx, win the trust of its survivors and emerge with powerful video and still-camera images that captured the conflicting qualities of despair and hope, resignation and ambition that defined that forlorn community in the mid-1970s. In the three decades since, I have watched Ms. Barrat's work grow in scope and depth and significance. As many have noted, the content of her work has evolved into a rare synthesis of art and activism without being didactic or heavy. It is perhaps best described by the phrase Cornell Capa chose for his Center, "concerned photography.” Like so many artists before her, maintaining the focus and integrity of her work has meant for Ms.Barrat a life of perpetual financial uncertainty. Quite remarkably, she has managed to survive and work and grow with a minimum of income from the periodic grant or fee or sale. The quality of her work should by now have led to some degree of security. Regrettably she has had to continue devoting too much time and energy to pursuing the means to continue it. I suspect there is a close connection between this unhappy fact and the uncompromising nature of the work itself. I wish it were otherwise. Ms. Barrat has lots more new work to do as well as a treasure trove of past work that needs to bewidely known. I commend her to you for support of a unique mission.