By Jill Waterman
© Dan Eldon
What is the difference between exploring and being lost? This
probing question hangs in the balance, next to the title on the
dust jacket of
The Journals of Dan Eldon. A young artist and
Reuters photojournalist, Eldon was only 22 when he was killed in
Somalia, along with three colleagues attacked by an enraged crowd
in the throes of an agonizing war.
Born in London of English and American parents, Eldon relocated to
Nairobi, Kenya, with his family when he was seven. A scrapbook
assignment after a class trip to visit Masai tribesmen became the
first of 17 extraordinary journals that he filled with photographs,
drawings, personal observations and objects culled from an
adventurous life. Eldon received his first photo credits at 14,
while accompanying his journalist mother on newspaper interviews.
Largely self-taught as a photographer, he worked in New York at 17
as a design intern for
Mademoiselle magazine before
returning to Africa to embark on a series of intrepid safaris.
Eldon’s many destinations are recorded in his journals with a wide
range of styles and moods. “Constantly his pages asked and answered
questions,” his mother, Kathy, explains. “The power of good versus
evil, the role of violence in society, and the effect of war
on humanity were recurring themes for him.”
After hearing rumors of famine in Somalia, Eldon went north to
investigate. He was among the first to report on a situation that
would “trigger the conscience of the world.”
During his time in Somalia, Eldon described seeing a gravely
injured young girl, who, he was told, would never the less survive.
“It made me think of the whole country,” he wrote. “Somalia will
survive, but what kind of life is it for a people who have been so
wounded. I don’t know how these experiences have changed me, but I
feel different.”
In 1999 Eldon’s mother and sister founded the nonprofit Creative
Vision Foundation (CVF) to support other creative activists who use
media and the arts to raise awareness about critical social,
environmental and humanitarian issues. To date, the foundation has
supported more than 45 projects and productions that seek to
catalyze positive and lasting change. For more information about
Dan Eldon, CVF and their supported projects visit their Web site.
Dan Eldon
1970-1993
July 17, 2009
By Jill Waterman
What is the difference between exploring and being lost? This probing question hangs in the balance, next to the title on the dust jacket of
The Journals of Dan Eldon. A young artist and Reuters photojournalist, Eldon was only 22 when he was killed in Somalia, along with three colleagues attacked by an enraged crowd in the throes of an agonizing war.
Born in London of English and American parents, Eldon relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, with his family when he was seven. A scrapbook assignment after a class trip to visit Masai tribesmen became the first of 17 extraordinary journals that he filled with photographs, drawings, personal observations and objects culled from an adventurous life. Eldon received his first photo credits at 14, while accompanying his journalist mother on newspaper interviews. Largely self-taught as a photographer, he worked in New York at 17 as a design intern for
Mademoiselle magazine before returning to Africa to embark on a series of intrepid safaris.
Eldon’s many destinations are recorded in his journals with a wide range of styles and moods. “Constantly his pages asked and answered questions,” his mother, Kathy, explains. “The power of good versus evil, the role of violence in society, and the effect of war on humanity were recurring themes for him.”
After hearing rumors of famine in Somalia, Eldon went north to investigate. He was among the first to report on a situation that would “trigger the conscience of the world.”
During his time in Somalia, Eldon described seeing a gravely injured young girl, who, he was told, would never the less survive. “It made me think of the whole country,” he wrote. “Somalia will survive, but what kind of life is it for a people who have been so wounded. I don’t know how these experiences have changed me, but I feel different.”
In 1999 Eldon’s mother and sister founded the nonprofit Creative Vision Foundation (CVF) to support other creative activists who use media and the arts to raise awareness about critical social, environmental and humanitarian issues. To date, the foundation has supported more than 45 projects and productions that seek to catalyze positive and lasting change. For more information about Dan Eldon, CVF and their supported projects visit their Web site.
