Celebrated photojournalist to meet students

From Nazi skinheads to the most famous rabbis of our time, Marc Asnin, an internationally celebrated photojournalist, has witnessed and reported it all. He was even present in New York during the horrific events of Sept. 11, trying to spare his life underneath a firetruck while the second tower collapsed before his eyes. \n"It sucked," Asnin said bluntly. "It was war that day and it was horrible."\nAsnin will be on the IU campus this week to share his projects and experiences with IU students, staff and faculty. Examples of his work will be shown, and students will be able to interact with him about his career.\nTyagan Miller, IU photojournalism teacher and friend of Asnin, is eager about the visit.\n"Considering his credentials, he is a great person for our students to get in touch with," Miller said. \nAsnin, a freelance photojournalist, has a resume packed with lectures and teachings, books and catalogues, films and CD-Roms, exhibitions, honors and awards, interviews, reviews and collections. Among his editorial clients are magazines such as New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, People, Time, Washington Post Sunday Magazine, and Cosmopolitan, to name a few. \n"I particularly enjoy being a magazine photojournalist," Asnin said. "I get to meet so many different types of people."\nAsnin grew up in Brooklyn and has never lived outside New York. Although he can't say he's always wanted to be a photojournalist, he knows he has always been interested in photography and current events.\n"Since I was 18 and got into art school, I've always been interested in the world," Asnin said.\nAsnin also enjoys teaching and being around young people. He taught at the School of Visual Arts for seven years in Manhattan. \n"It's an inspiration to work with young people," Asnin said. "I want to see what they're creating and see their creative energies. I am also excited that it is out of New York because I've never lived anywhere else. It is a great honor to go to a place with such great tradition and to know they want to know about my photography and my life," Asnin said.\nAsnin has recieved numerous awards, including The Mother Jones International Fund for Documentary Photography (2000) and The Eugene Smith Grant for Humanistic Photography (1993). \n"We are delighted to have such a distinguished and professional man come here to our campus," said Bonnie Brownlee, the School of Journalism associate dean for undergraduate studies.\nFor the past 20 years, Asnin has been working on a well-known photojournalism essay entitled "Uncle Charlie." Asnin said that on a personal level, this is his best work yet. The project explores his Uncle Charlie whose issues with poverty, drugs, mental illness, sexuality and family dysfunction have given Asnin an in-depth view of his family. He will have examples of this project to show to students when he visits.\nAsnin has several events planned on campus this week. At 7 p.m. tonight he will present a lecture in Woodburn Hall Room 120. An informal gathering is scheduled at 7 p.m.Thursday in Ernie Pyle Hall Room 157. Asnin will also be visiting photojournalism classes throughout the week.