Susan Sontag said photographs sends across the harmlessness and helplessness of the human life steering into their own ruin. Furthermore the bond connecting photography with departure from life tortures the human race. (Sontag 1977:64)
As stated by Judith Butler, the view of Susan Sontag, visible throughout her texts claiming that the photograph can’t reflect clarification by itself, would be senseless. She indicates that we require captions and written examination to support the diverse imagery in particular. According to her, the image can solely influence us, yet not grant us the comprehension of what we perceive. (Butler 2009: 63)
Globally, different art forms do not necessarily throw their definition in your face. It should be interpreted for subsequent comprehension. (Grundberg 1990: 3) Even though the extra information such as a caption and additional background info can be beneficial to the analysis of a photograph, it is not compulsory to the interpretation and consequent emotional response. (Butler 2009: 66) So, being more dependent on personal perspective, a photograph is widely open to different kinds of interpretation.
Taking into consideration Roger Ballen’s opinion, that when the viewers take a look at a photograph they ought to experience that instant existed in time; that it is genuine. (Amison 2014: http://www.gommamag.com/v6/?p=1922) One can derive that regardless of the pain expressed in the image that it belongs to a life of the subject in the photograph - it is merely a moment within their life and even though it is crammed with narrative, it is only one fragment of the subject’s life. It’s like something occurred or is about to, yet in the particular instance, nothing is taking place; it is captured eter...
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Grundberg, A. 1990. Crisis of the Real. New York: Aperture Foundation , Inc.
Guadagnini. W. 2009. The Visionary and Silent Theatre of Roger Ballen [Online]. Available: http://www.rogerballen.com/articles/the-visionary-and-silent-theatre-of-roger-ballen [2014, Feb. 16]
Law-Viljoen, B. 2005. Some Sort of Place: Recent Work by Roger Ballen [Online]. Available: http://www.rogerballen.com/articles/some-sort-of-place [2014, Feb. 16]
Rafferty, R. 2010. Roger Ballen at the George Eastman House [Online]. Available: http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/profile-roger-ballen-at-the-george-eastman-house/Content?oid=2125105 [2014, Feb. 16]
Sontag, S. 1977. On Photography. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books
People tend to views an image based on how society say it should be they tend to interpret the image on those assumption, but never their own assumptions. Susan Bordo and John Berger writes’ an argumentative essay in relation to how viewing images have an effect on the way we interpret images. Moreover, these arguments come into union to show what society plants into our minds acts itself out when viewing pictures. Both Susan Bordo and John Berger shows that based on assumptions this is what causes us to perceive an image in a certain way. Learning assumption plays into our everyday lives and both authors bring them into reality.
Sontang criticizes Woolf’s way of thinking of how a photograph should speak for itself, and not taking in consideration relatively truth of pain behind every picture. Sontang remarks, “But is true that these photographs, documenting the slaughter of noncombants rather than the clash of armies, could only stimulate the repudiation of war? Surely they could also foster greater militancy on behalf of the Republic. Isn’t this what they were met to do?” (Sontang 8). Sotang demonstrates that these photographs may be misinterpret by others and just viewed as a way of justice. In this quote Sotangs attempts to bring these pictures to others as form of connection between the real and unreal of war and destruction within it. Furthermore, Sontang is trying to make others understand that the pain of others should not be measure on the distance that these pictures come from, but instead to keep their value meaning of awareness in
Some people may have the same or similar interpretation but as a whole group of people, it is different. The artist whom took painted or drew the piece most likely had a different perspective than the audience. Every moment is different from the present or past. When an artist is creating their artwork, their interpretation can be different than their views a few years ago. Capturing the picture at a certain point in time can be powerful because it shows what the feelings, interpretations, emotions that were expressed at that time. These emotions translate to what the artist chooses to put in their piece, which can be very powerful. In this short essay, “Every Portrait Tells a Lie” by Debra Brehmer, she says “The portrait, in the choices the artist makes, alludes to the fact that who we are involved selection, interpretation, and chance.” (386) Brehmer makes an excellent point that the artist has the control to choose what goes into their piece. The artist can choose to include what they want into their piece, like a person, a plant, and etcetera. In the book The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the artist, Basil Howard claims that another character, Dorian Gray, is his muse. Basil paints a portrait of Dorian and this indicates how much power Basil has over the portrait. Basil has the power to choose what goes into the painting and how Basil wants to paint Dorian. Taking or painting a photo shows how much power the artist has because of their interpretation when taking the photo and their decision of what goes into the photo. The choice is completely up to the artist, which makes taking photos such a powerful
Sontag says that photography relates to morality and to awakening consciences. By this meaning, that photography can help back up its morality of one person rather than building one from scratch. By awakening consciences, Sontag relates photography as being in an abstract manner. Yet still are able to provide a situation that was considered as being historical. It was like the photographs were less powerful when they were much simpler. In a way, it resembled to be thought as children losing lives, suffering or being harmed by what the children can not control. This of which the photograph was able to catch the attention, while making an
The world has many photographers that anyone can look at. You can call me an amateur or say I don’t really understand the art but when I look at most of the pictures available, and I have looked at thousands lately, I don’t see anything different in the style of photography. I just see pictures. I see pictures of beautiful subjects and pictures of ugly subjects. I never really thought about the difference being the photographer instead of the subject, until I saw Elliott Erwitt.
According to Sontag, “It is mainly a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of power. Memorializing the achievements of individuals…” (8). Photography of family members is what cameras are made to do these days because we want to memorialize our loved one through their photographs. It becomes a social rite where photographs are used to unite families and keep them intact. Their achievements and successes in life are best distinguished through family pictures. And when it comes to family problems, these photographs lessens the worry as problematic people are always reminded that their families are always there to support them. Furthermore, Sontag explains that other people, especially the ones with psychological problems, use photography for hidden desires. According to Sontag, “The camera doesn’t rape, or even possess, though it may intrude, trespass, distort, exploit, and, … assassinate – all activities that… can be conducted from a distance… “ (13). Taking a picture of a person requires some distance, but one of the hundreds of reasons could be due to a person’s hidden fascination of others. Let’s say my photo was taken by an obsessed creep, he could be planning to use the photo either in a violent way or sexual way. There will always be that subconscious aspiration present when people aim the camera and then
Bringing distressing images and situations the forefront of art isn’t gimmicky, and it isn’t entertaining. It’s indispensable. When punches are held the point is only half-made. Vividly bringing to life the tragedies of the world is the only way in which we can come to understand them with any validity, and understanding these heartrending circumstances is the only means through which we can learn from them.
Russell Brown, J. 1995. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
In chapter 1 “On Photography” Susan Sontag explains her point of view on photography and the way people have become dependent on images in various ways in the sense of experiencing the value of someone or something. Society believes that photography makes that experience something tangible, a part of the world that they can call their own. Photographers occasionally infringe their own preferences by choosing different lighting, filters, or angles in their pictures so they end up changing the reality outside of Plato’s cave. At the same time, Sontag expresses her feeling of dislike towards photography as a symbolic rape turning people that have been photographed into property because we have knowledge of them that they can never have back for
“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
According to standard post-modernist critique, modernist photography does not accomplish its purported goal of "expressing an original and personal view of a subject." Instead, it "merely leads the beholder back to the original motif" or "refers the beholder to an [endless] chain of images." Thus the photograph itself is not admired or meaningful, but rather only the thing it's of or only as an element on a "chain" that itself continually defers meaning.
While their motives and style differ, a long series of uninterrupted images of the horrors of war gives someone who was not there an idea of what it was like. For photographs depict merely what happened on the field,
Furthermore, meanings behind or found in photographs can be determined by cultural definition and are manifestations of interest. Looking at the Fukushima disaster, overwhelming sense of loss and anger among those who were affected can view the images differently than those who had not experienced the disaster or weren’t as affected as others. Figueroa looks at Toshiya Watanabe’s photo book, 18 months. Born and raised in the Fukushima Prefecture, residents of the town he was born in had to evacuate and the town was declared off-limits. The images in his photo book presented a before and after of the town, how the town changed three
The temporality when the camera, photographer and person photographed do not have a total control of what the visual outcome’s meaning will be. She parallels the idea of citizenship with photography, and how
Have you ever seen a painting or picture that captivates you and directly stirs up emotion within you? More than likely, you have. Usually, viewers merely observe the picture and enjoy the way it looks and how it makes them feel. But, have you ever asked yourself, “why?” What about the picture makes it pleasing to the viewer? With each strategy the photographer uses creates their own touch and passion that floods all over the picture. The emotional connection nearly goes unnoticed for when the picture is well photographed, the viewers experience the sensation in their subconscious. This is one of the most powerful tools that a photographer holds in their hands. If one can become a master of manipulating how the photo affects its viewers, the said photographer can potentially maneuver people’s minds and thoughts with one click of a button. The time spent with my mentor has opened up the door for me to tap into that power though the use of background, focus, shutter speed, angles, and most importantly, lighting. Even with all these techniques, the person behind the camera must remember that creativity must be at the forefront of all operations. Caleno (2014), when writing about the basics of capturing a beautiful moment in a picture commented, “If we want to be creative we must drop these pre-conceptions and start looking at things from a small child’s innocence.”