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
Having such an image before our eyes, often we fail to recognize the message it is trying to display from a certain point of view. Through Clark’s statement, it is evident that a photograph holds a graphic message, which mirrors the representation of our way of thinking with the world sights, which therefore engages other
A picture is more than just a piece of time captured within a light-sensitive emulsion, it is an experience one has whose story is told through an enchanting image. I photograph the world in the ways I see it. Every curious angle, vibrant color, and abnormal subject makes me think, and want to spark someone else’s thought process. The photographs in this work were not chosen by me, but by the reactions each image received when looked at. If a photo was merely glanced at or given a casual compliment, then I didn’t feel it was strong enough a work, but if one was to stop somebody, and be studied in curiosity, or question, then the picture was right to be chosen.
I have the desire to photograph. I go out with my camera. I come across something that excited me emotionally, spiritually, aesthetically. I see the photograph in my mind’s eye and I compose and expose the negative. I give you the print as the equivalent of what I saw and felt.
Photography is defined at the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. To understand photography is having insight or good judgment to know how to take the picture, but also edit it if need be. Does photography limit our understanding of the world? What some people haven’t realized is that photography is all around us, whether it is in the person’s mind to see it or not. While we see photography throughout our daily routine, people dismiss the small types of photography and focus on the bigger sceneries like other countries beautiful cities and landscapes. It’s true that in this day and age, most photographs we see have been altered in some way. When photographers use Photoshop to edit our photos, we use many different ways to make that image appealing to the eye. Although, photographers unless told to do so will not change an image into something totally absurd that takes away from being astatically pleasing. Images are a gateway to the insight of the rest of the world’s cultures landscapes, and architecture, and photography is the key aspect to it. Photography is a one way to see the world, but it is better if you go and travel around the world to see it. In order to see if photography actually limits our understanding, we have to first look at the positive side of photography.
Photographs are used to document history, however selected images are chosen to do so. Often times these images graphically show the cruelty of mankind. In her book, Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag asks, "What does it mean to protest suffering, as distinct from acknowledging it?" To acknowledge suffering is just to capture it, to point it out and show somebody else that it exists. In order to protest suffering, there has to be some sort of moral decision that what is shown in the photograph is wrong, and a want from the viewer to change that.
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.
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
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
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
In the word of Gordon Parks, “I feel it is the heart, not the eyes that should determine the content of the photograph. What the eye see is its own what the heart can perceive is a very different matter” (qtd. in “Picture quotes”). Most viewer only views the images throw their eyes and they thought they could get the meaning of it. However, some photographs cannot be understood just by visual. For instance, Ice cream parlor, Blind River, Ontario captured in 1955by Parks. This photograph required the heart to be understood the narrative, messages, surprise and significant of the photograph. Parks’s photo should be
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
Death is a photography." And she also said that :" “We no longer study the art of dying, a regular discipline and hygiene in older cultures; but all eyes, at rest, contain that knowledge. The body knows. And the camera shows, inexorably.” Sontag’s examines how photography mediates the relationship between life and death, and has only swelled with significance and cultural relevance in the decades since, as we have shuttered and pixelated our way into this life-as-commemoration-of-itself age of ours. She writes: "Photographs turn the present into past, make contingency into destiny. Whatever their degree of “realism,” all photographs embody a “romantic” relation to
“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
In an era where analog cameras, negative film, and darkrooms were the highest forms of photographic technology available to men, American filmmaker and writer Susan Sontag made a thorough analysis of the culture of personal photographic practices, coming to a conclusion that photographs are "experiences captured" and the camera "the ideal arm of consciousness in its acquisitive mood" (Sontag, 165) .
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.”