In this paper I will focus on the work of Ariella Azoulay, I will compare her ideas with Susan Sontag’s arguments about the spectator of photography in relation to the ethical and political responsibilities which are present in the contemporary photographic practice. I will also have a look at Joscelyn Jurich’s perspective on the two authors mentioned above.
Ariella Azoulay in her book ‘The Civil Contract of Photography’ 2008, talks about photographic theory in combination with political philosophy. The idea that citizenship is based on a “new ontological-political understanding of photography” (23). The photographic act which involves different mediums, those are – the photographer, camera, subject photographed and the spectator; where none
…show more content…
Azoulay explains her usage of the term ‘contract’ in order to replace other terms such as ‘compassion,’ ‘empathy’ or ’shame’. The result of this is that the understanding of the connections created through photography is grounded, and so are the modes of public circulation. This creates a public sphere that provides a general and evenly distributed condition of citizenship. An argument that the author makes, challenges both modernist and postmodernist approaches in relation to “photographs of horror’’ which portray injured populations. Azoulay makes a critique towards other theories of photography as being too closely fixed on the aesthetic considerations, through examination of such images in relationship to the question of citizenship. Alongside the national and market forces, Azoulay argues that these theories are a fragment of the process of socialization that is limiting and in charge of our
Curtis’s work represents the ideological construction of foreign cultures in the 'way of seeing' that is suitable for the audience of the photograph and the photographer. This illustrates the highly political motives of photograph, carrying multiple meanings in order to craft certain imaginations of the subject (Berger, 1972). As a result of the power that the photographer has on its subjects, certain messages and ‘way of seeing’ are depicted through photographs. For instance, expected gender roles are played out in photographs of the Indian subjects, portraying the expectation of Curtis and his audience of the masculine and feminine behaviour by the subjects conforming to such gender standards (Jackson, 1992). Indian men are captured in what Jackson (1992) describes as ‘active poses’, such as fishing or dancing, juxtaposed with the ‘passive poses’ of female subjects, photographed in more decorative postured of waiting and watching. Though it can be argued that the manipulation and selection of images by Curtis as an artist’s ‘creative manipulation’ of their work, Curtis’ photography was used as a scientific measure, and hence should be devoid of such influences (Jackson,
The 21st Century appears to be headed towards a future of vast corruption and exploitation as a result of the often inhumane and uncivilised individuals who, over the years have become desensitized to poverty, war, consumerism, racism, mental illnesses and political corruption. As the world moves towards further democracy, and decentralization it is vital that art is given the opportunity to stimulate people’s awareness, participation and judgment. Arts purpose is not only to be a fulfilment of society’s visual needs but is needed be utilised as a function to alert people to society’s problems. Australian born George Gittoes, works within war zones to create confronting paintings, film, photography and prose that frequently portray man’s inhumanity to man. Gordon Bennett, also Australian, paints images that depict his own self questioning about his identity and the injustice towards Aboriginal Australians since the time of settlement.
Subsequently, this research paper principally attempts to review and convey the objectification of the human body through the practice of photography in various representations of the human body not only as a subject but also as an object. Indeed, the chapter “The subject as object: Photography and the human body” by Michelle Henning mainly cites fo...
Camera Lucida was Roland Barthes’ last written piece, published posthumously in 1980. This book deals with the topic of photography and the death of Barthes’ mother in 1977. The role of photography is questioned; he asks what about photography makes it a valid media? We read about the operator (the photographer), spectrum (the subject) and spectator (the viewer), also about the studium (what we see in the photograph) and the punctum (the unclassifiable, the thing that makes the photograph important to the viewer). According to Barthes the photograph is an adventure for the viewer, but it is ultimately death, the recording of something that will be dead after the picture is taken. This idea is the main focus of Barthes’ writing, the photograph “that-has-been”, in Latin “interfuit: what I see has been here, in this place which extends between infinity and the subject; it has been here, and yet immediately separated; it has been absolutely, irref...
John Mahtesian's photography offers a visual poetry of the human condition. It is a direct expression of his warmth, depth of spirit, and humanity. A true gentleman, extremely humble and unfailingly polite, he achieves an invisibility that is the success of his art. His patience and commitment to his vision allow him to capture moments others could not. If his subjects are aware of his presence, his gentle nature so enchants them that they are unguarded and their essence is revealed. So compelling are his images that we are truly convinced his insights are our own. They make us rejoice in the world around us, and in the nature of human existence.
In the essay “Why We Take Pictures” by Susan Sontag, she argues that taking photos can be a tool of power and sometimes even a defense against anxiety(353). Taking pictures can be a great source of power, according to Sontag. The photographer has the power to show what they want and people can choose whether or not to be in the photo. Sontag uses the example of a family photo; as some family photos portray the family being happy, many people cannot see that the family might not actually be as happy as they look. Sontag also uses examples like nuclear families and traveling in order to enforce her claims about picture taking. In a nuclear family, Sontag believes that taking a picture of that family can help relieve some anxiety because people
This work follows in that of the purveyors of documentary photography. Like Richards, Jacob Riss went into the city slums a century earlier armed with a camera. In New York, Riss saw a glut of people, mostly immigrants, jammed packed together and feebly existing in filth. Riss, who was primarily a writer, found that his words were not communicating the ailments of society to the public as he wished. Then, the primitive flash was invented. Riss saw this as way to communicate the troubles he saw in the dark areas where the grossly impoverished lived. The outcome of Riss’ efforts was a startlingly powerful book of his images and text appropriately titled How the Other Half Lives. Though the photographic equipment has change through this time span, the aim of the photographers is the same: to educate the rest of the world of those that are forgotten or ignored, and in that way, bring about change.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," we say. From the eyes and mind of the archivist studying the pictures of Robert Ross' experience with war, they are worth a lot more. The photographs in the epilogue of Timothy Findley's "The Wars" play an important role in Findley establishing both a trust with the reader, and a sense of realism to his war story. This satisfies the need for realism in his tale. The result of this image that is brought forth through the medium of the photograph, is that we are forced to see the "before" and "after" of Roberts "experience" and figure out our way through what is deposited in between: the cause and effect.
"I wanted him, a mate with a mind as cold as the slice of ice within
The camera is presented as a living eye in her work, capable of bending and twisting, contorting reality in its own light. It is at the same time a sensuous device, one that exp...
“The documentary tradition as a continually developing “record” that is made in so many ways, with different voices and vision, intents and concerns, and with each contributor, finally, needing to meet a personal text” (Coles 218). Coles writes “The Tradition: Fact and Fiction” and describes the process of documenting, and what it is to be a documentarian. He clearly explains through many examples and across disciplines that there is no “fact or fiction” but it is intertwined, all in the eye of the maker. The documentarian shows human actuality; they each design their own work to their own standards based on personal opinion, values, interest and whom they want the art to appeal to. Coles uses famous, well-known photographers such as Dorthea Lange and Walker Evans, who show the political angle in their documentations and the method of cropping in the process of making the photo capture exactly what the photographer wants the audience to view. In this paper I will use outside sources that support and expand on Coles ideas with focus on human actuality, the interiority of a photograph, and the emotional impact of cropping.
“Recently, photography has become almost as widely practiced an amusement as sex and dancing, which means that, like every mass art form, photography is not practiced by most people as an art. It is mainly a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of power” (Sontag 8). After reading this quote in my head multiple times, I started to realize that people use it for different purposes. When I took a photography class in college, it was under the category “art.” Which made me think of it as a form of art, when there are so many other ways to view photography. Sontag changed my opinion about photography after further interpreting her quote because to have a camera in our hand, being able to capture the world through our lens is to have a tool of
As seen in paintings of battle scenes and portraits of wealthy Renaissance aristocracy, people have always strived to preserve and document their existence. The creation of photography was merely the logical continuum of human nature’s innate desire to preserve the past, as well as a necessary reaction to a world in a stage of dramatic and irreversible change. It is not a coincidence that photography arose in major industrial cities towards the end of the nineteenth century.
Butler in “Torture and the Ethics of Photography” is largely concerned with how our understanding of perceptible reality and our response to the suffering of others are controlled by military and governmental authorities, who by allowing “embedded reporting”, that is, to allow the journalists and photographers to report only from the persp...
In Sontag’s On Photography, she claims photography limits our understanding of the world. Though Sontag acknowledges “photographs fill in blanks in our mental pictures”, she believes “the camera’s rendering of reality must always hide more than it discloses.” She argues photographs offer merely “a semblance of knowledge” on the real world.