Truth and Lies_Reading Photo.pdf

7/27/2019 Truth and Lies_Reading Photo.pdf

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The 1999

sc

ence

fiction

fi

m

lhe

Malrlx

(d

rected

by

Andy

and Larry Wachowsk

)

proposed

a dystopian future in wh ch

lur"r

be rgc J

e

o- r

ed Lo d

pd)c

.e

fe funct

oning as

'baiteries'

for

nte lgent

machines; humans

are

pLugged

into

a

computer

progran'rme

that

simu ates

rea

ity and

aTe ufalvare

of

the

tr e

nature

of the r existence

As

["4orpheus,

leader

ol

a

group

who

had escaped the lvlatrix,

asks: t4lhat is real? Haw

da

yau

deline

'real?

lf

Vau

are talking

about what

you

can

feel, what

yau

can smell what

you

can

taste

and see, then'real' is simply

electrical signals interpreted

by

yaur

brain

The

Matixis

of couTse, fict

on and rro

o|e

-

IlF)

rooe-oot-oi

toI

i1"

"g

ott

-

v./i

.-

Neverthe

ess,

there

is

some sense

irl

[,4orpheus

s

observation:

our

grasp

on

'^dl

/

t<

oe.6.^t

r6d

b1

o_r

porr^p

o-,

To

be sure there

are facts on wh

ch

we

can a I agree

and wh ch

are by

definit on

ndependent

of our ind v

dua

percept

onsi

we

can

broad

y

agree

on

what someth ng

ooks lke albe t

under specific

cond

tlons

lowever

appearances

can

be decept ve.

As

djscussed,

in

the

prev

ous chapter, what

th ngs mean,

is subject to interpretat

on.

[,4eanings

are not

on

y

shaped

by

the

funct oning

of our

perceptual

apparatus

(the processing of sense

data

nto

electrica

signa s in our

brain), but also

by the

ideo og

cal framework

and be iefs which

determ ne our

point

of view. Photographs

are

part

cularly

problematic

in

th s

respect

we

can

be seduced inlo

bel

ev

ng

that a faithfu

record of appearances

is actua

ly a

's

ice of

rea ity'. That

real sm rs

the same as rea ity.

i.)

Titler Keanu Reeves

and Hugo

Weaving in

'The

Matrix',

1999

Source:

Warner Broihers

The rea ism

of The L4atrix

te

es

Lrpon the

a djence s

suspens

on

of

d

sbe ef

n the

lace

oi

ayers

of

LJnrea

ty C nernatrc

specia

effects show

us

the

lus

on of

humans I

ying

wh

ch s exp ained

as a f ct ona representat

on of

\]

rtua

rea ty

experenced

n

the I ctiona wor

d of the f

lm



71

A

point

of

view

Laak at it my way Do

you

see

what

I

mean?

[,4elaphors

of

see

ng and

look

ng

are

ntrins

c to

our

conceptua izat on

of

understand

ng

Curious

y.

ihey

emphas ze

both the subjective

(in

my

v/ew/)

and the

apparently olrlect ve statement of revelat on

(row

iseel

Alow

/

undersland). The camera

emllod es both

aspects every

photograph

s by defin

t on a

po

nt

of

v

ew, an angle

of vision and a moment se ected by the

photographer.

At

the

same

time the

resulting

p

ctlfe

can be seen

as

object

ve

proof

ol the scene wltnessed its lruthlu ness

apparently ndependent

of the

photographer

The

va ue of

photojourna

sm

and

do rn.

'"

,

pao

og

apr

\

d^pp

o

.

upof oui faith

n the oblect vity

of the

photographer

and the

ev

deft

ary status of

the

photograph

ndeed, every day we

ook

ai

p

ctures informing

us

about the world and

broadly

accept

them as rrefutable

evidence

of events and

phenomena.

The

fact

that we

know

that

photographs

can

be

tampered

w th and be used to

tel

ies

on

y

re

nforces

our

gefeTal

la

th

n

the essent al lruihlu ness

of

photography:

if we earn that

a

documentary'

photograph

has

been

altered,

then we

fee

cheated we

feel

manipulated

Piclures

that

purport

to te

lthe

truth

about

events

aTe

subject to

cons

derable ethica

and

phi

osoph

ca conslderatlons.

,1.2

What

is

real

?

o-o

o

o

o

6dl

r



iiiizz

what is

'reat'?

The camera never lies

The

Vietnam

War

(1954

1975) has been

described as the

'med

a'war: images

of it were beamed

into homes

across

Amer

ca and

Europe, and

publlshed

in magaz nes and newspapers.

lt has

become commonp ace to

c a

m that

the course of

the war was materia

ly

affected by the disseminatlon

of mages

because

the truih that they revea ed

gave

the lie to the off c al stor

es.

On 1 February 1968,

Eddie Adams was

in a street in Saigon

(Vletnam)

and

he

saw General

Nguy6n Ngoc Loan ralse hls

pjsto

to the

head

of a

Vjetcong

prisoner

as Loan

pu

led

the

tr

gger,

Adams

pressed

the shutter on

h

s camera and

produced

one

of

the most icon c irfages, not

iust

of

ihe

war,

but

of

the twentieth

ceniury.

The

p

cture

was

and rema ns,

profoundly

shocking.

lt is shocking because of the

brute fact il so stark

y

shows. The camera

has object

ve

y

recorded a rea

event,

a human execution.

The fact

that the

sp

it

second

exposure

(1/50Oth

second)

Jreezes

what no human

eye

could

actualy

perce

ve does not d

mlnish

ts

trLrthfulness

-

f anything, t cements

t. There

can be

no doubting

what happened. Adams

won a Pu itzer

Pr ze for the

picture.

But what can

\r'/e :::, .

mage? What s c=-

-:-

man on

the leli a':^= :

gun

at

the head

:':-=

seems,

from the :.

:

:

-

the man on

the

I

-:

:-

been

fired.

Those

a-:

:

eloquenlly of

ma.

:

-

-

But the

picture

b'. :::

'

the

circr..rmsiafc::

,'

:

execution

thoLrJ-

:-=

to conclLrs ons

s,.

-:::-

Li

Title:

General Nguy6n

Ngo

executing Viet Cong

prisor

Nguy6n V6n L6m, Saigon

February,1968

Photographer:

Edd e

::"-

Of

the

nany tlroJs:_:,

pholographs

mac.

:-

:

--

course of the V eir.-

l

th s is one of a

1a-:-- ::

_:

acqu

red

lastng

s

Q-'

. ::

apparently

cas a

a',

:.

:

executlon terna

ns

:.

-_:

now as t appeara:

_

::

:

'[Loan]

prrs

-

,-

:

of

my

mel :-

-]

It

was

a

vu'a'

nice,

llut

-

=

mlght

ha,i: ,: ,-

fLoan'sl

ife

a-:

e se

gr:::

to hurt

pec:

= =

lntention

oe-l:

Eddie Adams,

photograpr

,-r"f

t

itr

{'

."., I

-

,.it I



But

what can

we actualy

read

from

the

mage?

What

s denoted

ls very

plalnithe

man

on

the

left

of the

p

cture

points

a

gun

at the

head

of the

man

on

the

I

ght;

it

seems,

from the

expressiof

on

the face

of

the man of

the r

ght,

that the

bu

let has

just

been

fired

Those

are the facts

they speak

e

oquent

y

of man's

inhuman

ty

to rnan.

But

the

picture

by itse f

tel s us I tt e about

ihe

c rcumstances

of,

and reasons for

this

a

6

.,o't

ougl

-nl3

.

ewal

^

ar

I

."rp

to conc us

ons sympathetic

to the victim.

Title:

General

Nguy6n Ngoc

Loan

execuling

Viet

Cong

prisoner,

Nguy6n V;n

L6m,

Saigon,

1

February,1968

Photographel

Eddie Adams

Ol lhe

rnany

thoLrsands

of

photographs.iade

dLr ring the

course

ol

the

vielnam

war.

thrs

s

one of a handfLtito have

acquired ast rg

s

gn

I

cance

The

apparent

y

casua

bruta ity

of this

execution rema

ns as shock

ng

now

as l

appeared n 1968

'l[oan]

puts

his

psto

n hs holster

il

Truth

and

interpretation

n

a

fllmed

interview

(,4n

Llnlikely

Weapan,

directed

by

Susan l\,4organ

Cooper,2008),

Edd e

Adams

ta

ked

about

his

photograph:

1,la

about

ft/a

teel

dAa\

ltam

ne

U$anel

and ta

my

left

Ihis

guy,

I had na idea

[wha

he wasl,

went

over and

lcauld

see him

ga

for

his

pistal.

. I taak

ane frame:

that was

the instant

that

he

shat him

. I didn't

even

knaw lgal

him

shaoting

him. when

I see

the

picture

/ was

not impressed

.

jt's

nal

a

great

work

af an

in

lerms

af

photography

the

light wasn

I

right

composlllon

was

lerrible

.. I

still

dan t understand

why

it

was

so important

Adams was

do ng

his

job:

making

pictures.

A

p

cture

such

as th

s

comes

allout

through

"

o'rbtdlior

o o

o'^

^o-d

o.pe'

e^.e

instinctive

teactlon

and lL"lck

As

Adams

said,

he

d

dn't

know

what

he had

caught

n

that

split second

exposure

nor

d

d he

understand

the

sign

f cance

of the

picture,

the

mean

ngs it

would

be

given

and

the effects

it would

have.

It s on

y

by conextualiz

ng

the image,

bringtng

nformatlon

to

t

that the

v ewer

can

properly

read and

nterpret

it.

What

the v ewer

cannot

read from

the

p

cture is

the context.

he

said,

"he

k

ed many

of

my men

and many

of

your

people"

and

llst

kept

walking

It

was a

war

I

had

seen so many

p)eop

e

d

e

t's not

n

ce,

but

he shot

him

he

was a

prrsoner,

and

he

shoi

h

m

might

have

done

the same thing

The

p

ctlre

destroyed

l[oans]

life

and that's what

bothers

n.re

more

than

anyth

ng

else

guess

the

pictlre

d

d

good

th ngs

blt

dof't waft

to hurt

peop

e either

rt

rea

y

bothers

me,

tl.tat's not

my

ftent

on

be

ng

a

photographer

that's not

what

I

want

to do

Eddie Adams,

photographer

whatis.real.?

D

oo i.io

.o.p.



74

Representation

and reality

But

for

Adams

p

cture

(and

the

newsreel

of the

sar.te

incideirt),

the

execut

on of

\o t.^,

\".1

-^-r

b, GF'6

o, Nor

r6.

Ngoc

Loan wou

cl

be an

unconsiderecl

now

Jorgotten,

routine

fc

dent

of war;

an anonymous

statist

c in

the

mi lons

of

deaths

However

the representat

on

of ihe

incident

has

endowed

t with

sign ficance

ln

a lectLlre

exam

ning representation

and

the

med

a

Professor

Stuart

Ha

I argues

lhal

the

mearting

af an

event

does

nat

exist

until it

has

been

represerled.

the

process ol

represe

ntatlan

enters inta

everts

lhemse/yes.

Represertatlon

is

constltutlye

of

eyenls.

Io'd,.r.tt -

pLol

".01

o'^od.tr

picture

had an

effect

not

only

or

ihe

persona

ife

of

General

Loan

but also

on

the

weighi

of

publ

c opinion

about

e

war,

and

consequentiy

on

ts

course,

th

s

wou

d

seem

io

be true.

The

mean

ngs

ol the event

(beyord

that for the

fdlv

duals

concerneLl)

arise

dtrect

y

from

rts

representation

ir

the

photograph.

Given

this

potentia,

there

ts

a ciear

ethica

responsib

lty

on

the

part

of

the

photojourna

ist or

clocumentarV

photographeri if their pictures

purport

to

r^

ord

a.

o oi- l .n

d.-

-.o.1_.

o

.

Lttr-tg

around

the world,

we

need

to be

able

to

,.

5d

In^ pt'

t^.'tO\\

d td'

d- \

possrb

e what

we

wou

d

have

seen

hacl

we

stood in

the

shoes

of

the

photographer

The

picture

that

most

moves

is one

which

persuades

us

that

t is a

neutra.

d

s

nterested

observat

on; the

photographer

may

be

moved

bui the mechan

ca

eye

of

the

camera

s taken

to

be

ndifferent

Lo

lr

-.

6na

d

o o

dr-.

lt_e

l.lowever

the recogn

t on

that

photographs

can be

so

powerfu

ls

an

open invitation

to

explo

t

the

r capaclty

to affect

the

v ewer

and

the

course

oi

events.

Toclay,

that

recognition

.-r

\^d

Otr rr

r,,tO'

media

irnages

s

effectively

a

peTfo

|ance

enacted

to lle

represenied.

This

can

rafge

lrom

the

devastat

ng

terrot

st

act;

to the

work

of

the spin

doctor

ensur

rg

that

thelr

chaige

is

wearing

the

right

c othes

and

s in

the right

company

to transm

t

the

desirecl

message

to the

pLtb

ici

through

to

the

humblest

famiy

photograph

'smi

e for

the

camera,.

The

photographer

who

appears

to

be

invisible

to their

subjects

who

catches

them apparent

y unawares (for example

Wa ker

Evans

subway

portraits

or Richarcl

B

I

ingham

s

pictures

of

h

s tamiy)

seems

to take

us

c oser

to rea

ity.



75

Title:

London,

UK,26

lriarch

2011

Phoiographer:

1000

Words

n

most mages

oi currenl

-avents,

the

pfotographer

s nv

slb e

g

v ng th-. v

e\N,er ol the

phoiograph

the us on

of a

privieged

v

eyr

of

the act on By

rnc Lrd

ng the

pholographers

n

th s

picture

of

a

c

ash

beti,eef

prolesters

and

po

rce in London.

thal

lusoI

s

shatiered.

rcvea ng

the

photographers

as

pari

of the story

and not

mcaely

n,a tralobservers

.

\A/hal

s

rea

r'

Representation and

reality

Faclsandfcton

=



Representation

and

reality

Realism and

illusion

Real sm s a surprising

y

tr cky terro.

Of

the

face of

t t

seeafs to

refer

straightfor\,,i ard

y

to

mages

that convincing

y

miiate

realty

It has been

a ong

stand

ng

assumpt

on

thai the

lob

of

art

was

to

do

just

that.

Arguab

y,

this

spans

from the

Greek

story

of

the competit on

between

Zeux s and

Pa[hasius

(the

former

pa]nted

grapes

so

rea

st

caly

that they foo ed

the

b rds;

the

atter

pa

nted a

curta

n

so

conv ncing

y

ihat t

fooled his

r va

)

lhrough

to the

nvention of

photography.

And,

indeed,

the

endur

ng fascinat

on and

usefulness

of

pholography

ies

pleclse y

in

its

(apparently)

laithf uL

recordinq of appearances.

However

Real

sm

a movement assoc ated

with nineteenih

century

pa

nters,

such

as

.r ,

p

,

o-rb-t

-

)r

illad

16

-r pl

d

from mere appearance

(which

could

be

rendered

conv

fc ng

y

even fol

who

ly idea

zed or

fantast

ca themes)

to

representing the

truth of exper ence

Courbet

made

paintings

(such

as A

Burial

at Ornans,1849)

which

depicted

ordinarv

peop

e

in everyday

clrcumstances

in

nformal

compos

t ons

(One

of the

nnovatlons of

Real

st

and lmpressionist

tr"i

i

qs

u"

]a

r

oP rol

-6

roPP

I o

o

tra

tl.

ge /r''L

1

\-

dr-

-

" d". c-

wh ch

sign

f es

spontane

ty and

rea ism.)

1.5



77

Realism

and

reality

A further

complication

in

the

use

of the

term

'rea

ism'

s to emphaslze,

not

just

the

persuasiveness

of

the rea ity

of

the scene

represented,

but

the

reaiity

of

the medium

tself. While

ilusionism

has

been the stock

in trade

of

painters

through

the ages,

modernist

art tended

to draw

attention

to the

construction

of

the work

tself

the brush

marks

(lndexical

marks

of

the

presence

of the

pa

nter,

the

flatness

of

the support:

a surface

to be looked

at

rather

tha| af

lllus

onistic window

to

ook

through.

Part

of the

pecul

arity

of

photography

is

the

'transparency'

of

the medium:

the

mage

is

inseparable

from

the surface

(whether

viewed

as a

projection

of

ight

or

a

print),

making

the il

usionism

of

photography

as a window

onto

reality very

compel ing.

There

is no

material trace

or ev

dence of

the

photographer.

ln

purely

convent onal

terms,

such a

trace wou

d

generally

be

regarded

as

signifying'bad'

photography

-

the finger

in

front

of the

ens,

out of

focus

subjects,

over exposure,

off-kjlter

composition

-

draw

ng

attent on to

the

process.

On the

other hand,

these could

be

read

as

sign fy ng

a raw authenticity,

honesty

and awareness

of

the

p

cture

as

a

'real'

thing itse

f,

a

part

of the rea

world.

l5

Title: Reflections,

2012

Photographer:

Joanna

Casey

The

photograph

as

a window

onto rea

ty' s

rnade

complcated

here by focus

fg

on

an

aciua

wlndow

lnstead

ol look

ng

at

reality,

the

window

here reflects

a mLr

ti ayered

co lage

ol

colours,

forms

and s

gns

W thin

the chaos

and

abslract

on, a womans

face

looks

ca

m

y

out

at

the viewer.

I

What rs

'real'?

I Representation

and reatity

I Facts and

liction

:



Represenlation

and

reality

Real

pictures

New

York

at the turn ol the twent eth century

1o\ Ora

O

lf

F

O, o.^JOeO

pld

a

i-

'he

uor

d.

Viq

dtior'."

trad

o

0.".

r

1907

when

rnore

than

a mi

lon

mmigrants

passed

lhrough

E

ls sland and into New

York Whatever expeclations

ihe

mmigrants

had,

the

rea

ity

for

many was, n

t

a ly at east

poverty

and squalor. Jacob

R

is, h mse f

an dmigrd

f

rom

Denmark,

who

a[

ved

n

1870, was

appa ed by

the slum

cond

t

ons

in which

so

many mmigrants lved.

R is

worked

n t a ly as

lournal

st but llecame

determined to campa

gn

for the reforrn of

-5o

.no

otd

o'.o'rr. o' o\.

tg

photographs

to lustraie h s art

c

es and

book, How the Other

Half L/yes

(1890).

Ri

s

professed

iltle ntetest

n the

'art

of

P*o

og dpl

,

o i'

le.q

r'

dr

I

a o..

however, he was

a

p

oneer n the

use

of

flash

ight. le and

his

associates

wou d enter dark rooms at

night

ign

te

a

magnes um f are, and capture

mages

of

the

unsuspecting

occupants

By

profess

ona

standards h

s

piciures

were

pretty

rough

(not

to mention the eth cs of his

approach

);

but, arguably, this

perfect y

su

ted the

sublect

matter:

'bad

photographs

expressed

the bad

cond

t

ons. ln

short,

R

ls was

nst

nctivelv

practising

a

form ol rea

sr0.

i.a

Title:

Five Cents Lodging,

Bayard

Street,

c.1889

Photographer:.lacob

R s

R

s

p

oneered

the lse

ot f ash

io

tera

y

I

u

nate

the darker corners

of the s urns ol New York Wheiher

h s slbjects

rere

were actua

y

taken

by sLrrpr se or

prepared

for

the

event

s

not abso ule

y

c

ear

H s eth .s rnay

be

qlest

oned.

blt

h

s methods

\,yere

c

ear

y

eflect ve

lr

Title: Dachau,2012

Photographer

Matt Frederick

A

contemporary

photograph

ob ous

y,

cannot sho\,\r

anyth ng

of

the hofior assoc atel w

th DacftaLl

cofcentrat

on carr)p belween

1933

afd 1945

Hor,.rever,

the

forma

comoosit on and tone

of

Freder

ck s

photograph

coaveys

a

q iet

dign

ty

\",'hlch

moving

y

respeds

tre

rremory

of ihe

rn

ons

of

v

ctims

ol

Naz s rl



Form and

content

The

re ationsh

p

of form

to content s

a

fundamental

aesthetic issue for a

I

image

makers.

On

the one

hand.

the

mmacu

ate

and'beautiflr' image

of tragedy and

suffer

ng

may

seem inappropriate

and

even offens

ve

on the other hand the

.ig'

's

s'

.--L'.a

\

d'ro

^

^

ed a^y

can be simu ated

and seem

fa se.

79

Robert

Frank's

p

ctures

pub

ished

as

The

Americans

(1958),

were

made when

he secured

a

grant

to

photograph

al

I

cLa

of

"o,

-t

,

i

Lnp

-iti"t

I

r^r.

was rece

ved

negat ve

y

by some wh

e

others

saw

that

he

was 'rough ng

up

a

med

um that had become

too retined

and

sta

d, add ng rea ism.

Garry W nogrand

gave

his

street

pictures

a trademark

t lt,

which

connoted

dynam sm

and freshness.

Nowever

what begins

as sty

ist

c nnovat

on

can soon become

cl chdd

and mitative

Stye

matters

-

t

shapes

how

a

photograph

is

read.

Wfrat

s

rea

?

Representation

and

reality

Facts

and fiai on

-



ao

Facts and

fiction

The writer A.D. Co

eman

has

argued

Ihal

all

phatagraphs

are fictlons,

to

a far

grealer

extenl

than

we

are

Ve[

able ar willing

to

acknorv/edge.

[,4ost

photographs

however, d sgu se

the

degree to which they

are

constructed

by

means of ihe r ilus on of transparency.

The

discusslon

so far has

emphasized

the

quest

ons ar s ng from the

perce

ved

truthfu

ness

of

photography;

but

as

should

be apparent that

is

on

y

one slde

of

the

story. To

be

sure,

a

preoccupat

on

with

truthfulness

has

been dominant

through

much

of

the

h

story of

the medlumi but

there

has

lreen an

equa ly

ong standing

engagement

w

th the

construCtion of

fict ona

scenar

os,

of

exp oit ng

the

p

ctor al creat v

ty and freedom

enloyed

by

pa

nters. The reaLism mplcit n

the

medium

g

ves an

extra

edge

to

the

resu t ng

p

ctures even

though the

v

ewer

may

bo

pe'^,

1, a^/drr,

5dt

tl

-

".6ndrio

a

stage

set

peop ed

by

perlormers

for

the

purpose

of

making the

photographl

the rea ism can be very seductive.

This

approach

s

perhaps

most

obv

ous

and fami

iar

I advert s

ng and

fash

on

photography

where the viewer

understands

the'game

and

takes

pleasure

n

the

fantasy

and

glamour

connoied.

The

game

can,

however be

qu

te

soph

siicated where

for

example,

to counter a

potent

al

pa

Ing of

drt

f

,

dl

g

dro l .

d

'grL'lga

d6 th6l L( r'lg

dFrp

-

lo or o.. old/o d

rt,'

oro

^.

i'rg

can mpart an

iron c

g

amour and

reallsm.

The

fictiona mode of

photographv

can be

exp

ored

through construct

on

and

man

pu

ation

-

both approaches

are as

o

d

as

the

med

um

itse

f.

1.8

Title: Fashion

shoot at

the

John

Lautner

House,

Los Angeles, US,2011

Photographer: Christopher

The

mode swims iLr ly

dressedi

the

ocat on

is the

pool

of

a

g

amorous and futur stic house

n

Ca fornia

The

gorgeous

colour and abstract

patterns

of the water override concerns

about

pract

calty

and comfori.



The

constructed

image

Hippo

yte

Bayard

was

ofe of the

pioneers

of

photography.

n

1839 he invented

a

d rect

paper positive process

and exhib ted

work

pr

or

to the

pub

ic announcement

of the

daguerreotype

processi polt

cs

iO,r^.-.

o, o.aO-O

o."

j

1l.d

farne that

accrued to

Daguerre. ln

1840,

Bayard

produced

Self-Partrait

as a

Drcwned Man. nscr b-od as fol ows:

Ihe corpse which

yau

see here is lhat

af

M Bayard.

invenlar af

the

process

lhal

has

/ust

beer showr ta

yau

.The Gavernment

which

has

been only taa

gererous

fo

Mansieur

Daguerre has

said

it

can da

nathing

far Monsieur Bayard,

and

the

paor

wretch

has drawned

himself .

He

has

been at

the

morgue far

several days. as

you

can abserve,

the face and hands

af

the

genlleman

are beginning

to decay.

'l

Bayard

had not

d ed, but

he had

produced

the f

rst staged

photograph.

n

1858

lenry Peach

Robinson

exhib

tecl

Fading

Away

a

work that

exemp

if

ed

the

d scomfort

engendered

by

the staged

image.

The

p

cture

purports

to

show

a

young

woTnaf

dying

probably

from

tuberculos

s. lt

s constructed,

ho\\iever,

lrom f ve

separate

negaiives

and leatures

actors

As art histot

an

Stephen E senman

notes the

p

cture offended

some for

its

nde

cate

approach to

such a subjeci

and

others for

its

art f

c a ity, which

was seet

as

a vialatian af phatographic

authenticity.

i.

tlr

Title:

Fading

Away, 1858

Photographer:

Henry Peach

Roblnson

Rob nson

a

pa

nter t rned

pholographer

enloyed

cofs derab

e

sLr..-.ss

w th his P.torial

st

corrpos

t

ons lle skelched

oLt

the

pan

for hs

pLtLr-.s

shot

the sepa

ale e ements then

comb ned

the

negat

ves

(frvc,

n

th s case)

to

make a s ng

e

pr

nt

Representat

on and rea ty

Factsandfiction

Casestudv

IhomasHoeok-.r



a2 Facts and

fiction

The

directorial

mode

llenry

Peach Rob nsor.r s a

rf had

becf to

nrake

ari cut of

photography

lov/ever

h

s

approaih t0 construct ng

p

Litures

Liarfe to

ire

rf arg

na

z-.d

| -.ar

y

tvr'-.nt eth c-.nll]ly

Lihoi.graphlc

fash

on afd h story

uih ch

carre to favo r tfre sira

ght

photograph.

lowever.

as

A.D

Co

eflri]r has flraoe

al a,.r lhe dir-.ator

ir

mode mere

y

u/-cnt rdergro nc and re emetged

n

the 1970s notab

y

I the \'rork of

C

r,dy Shernran

afd,Jell

\"y'i,. .

n ihe t\, enty I rst centur ih-o rnod-o

has

rfoveal to

c-.ntro

stalle n lor

examp e

thc

\J,/ork

of

Thama:i

DemarLl

\,,, ho

cor-ctructs three d tnelrs ofa

moale s fOr

the purpose

cf

makrng

a phctograpn:

afd

Gregory

Crc\,,,dsoir who mp oys vrhat

antoLrnLs to

a 1 m cTe ,r

cast afd

sa]lipt

to

produce

s1i I

photographs.

TyD ca

\,.

such

mag-os

arc

ilrg-a

sca e alrd oxh ir tcd I

gi:r

-oli-os

th,o r

p

e:LSUres and []ean rgs

der v

ng

lror.r

the

r eqr voca

statLrs

\r'/

tfr

respeci to

ilholograLrir

Li tr tlr

t1:



-J

11

l:n

t. 11

Title:

Untitled

(Brief

EncounteD

Irom

the series

'Beneath

the

Roses'. 2OO3-2O07

Photographer:

Gregory Crewdson

Crewdson is

a d

rector of

s

ngle

frame

Tfov

es tfre

pictures

are

storyboarded, ocal ons

sec red

ghting

crews and

aclors

emp oyed.

Shoots

rnay

take ll

days

Crewdson ev-on employs a

camera

operator The images

are

ed

ted before being

pLrb

slred

as imiied

ed

t on

pr

nts

yrh

clr

may

be

up

lo seven leet wide.

Titler Dead Troops Talk

(a

vision

after

an

ambush oI a Red Army

patrol,

near llroqor,

Af

ghanistan,

winter 1986), 1992

Photographer: Jeff

Wa

I

Wa

shot

a ser

es of tab

eaux

s

ng

actors

n a

studio before

assemb

ng

the fina image

as

a

dgta

monlage Wal frequenlly

rnakes refereNce in h

s mages

to the lr story ol art. Here

the

macabre scene seerns

lo draw

on

a

oombination of

documenlary

phoLography

wilh horror

Tnov es.

The mage s exfr b ted as

a

huge

transpaaency na

ghtbox

I

R-.preseftat

on and rea ty Facts

and

fiction

Case

study

Thomas

Hoepker



Facts and fiction

:.1: b

,

G

1f,,6

.*

;

-r.-

"-:t

r-.

*.

'n;:-S



The

manipulated

image

The

advent

of d

gital

photography

has

rarsed

awareness

of

the

man

pulation

of magesi

however,

the

practice

of

maf

ipu

ation

is as

o

d

as

the med

um itself

It wou

d not

be unreasonable

to

argue

that

man

pulat

on

s to some degree,

an

unavoidab

e

part

of the

process

itself

lrom

fram ng

to cropping to

select ve

focus,

to

ightenlng,

darkening, saturating

colours,

to

pos

ng

re enacting

-

every

photograph

is a manipu

at

on of visua

material

to

produce

a

picture.

ndeed

one

could

reasonab y ask:

what would

an

ent rely

un-man

pulated

mage

ook lke?

85

Neverthe

ess, t

s

poss

ble

to

recogn

ze

thai

those

e ements

are understood

and taken

on trust;

of more

conceTn

is

when

mages

have

been

mod f ed

del

berately

to

m

s

ead

or

misinform.

Of

course

here

too

the

context

is cruc

a. The

'adjustment

of

the

relat

onsh

p

of

the

pyramlds

to f

t

more

comfortably

nto

t

^

g

dot

dp5

g^

ol

d

-rdga,/

-^.

o

e

^

of

^

".

v-

r

rrlle

on

aoL6^

p

Tl-6

n

6

g

-rg

of

two

separate

shots into

an'mproved'

0ne represent

ng

moments

in the

theatre

of war is

a together

more sens

tive.

-*-s

"

o.noo.r^

o^o-og.apr-

o, B

ar

Wa

sk,

one

n

which

he

comblned

rwo

s

mi

ar images

of

what

was actuai

y

recorded

by

the cameTa

nto

one

which

wh

le making

a

more eftective

compos

t on,

shows

a

scene

that

cou/d

have

happened,

but

was not

actually

w

tnessed

Because

such

a

picture

ex sts

to feed lnterpretation,

wh

ch in turn

informs

beliefs

w th

potentia

for

pollttcal

consequences,

thls

is a very

serious

matter

indeed.

Wa

sk

was

Sacked

front his newspaper

3.I). -3 1)a

Title:

Photographs

of

Voroshilov.

l\Iolotov

and

Slalin with.

and

without,

Nikolai Yezhov,

c.1937-194O

Photographer:

Unknown

The manipulal

on

of ihe ower

mage

rs

a

sinrster

ref

ecl on

o{

the

polt

ca

manipu

ation of rea

ty

Niko

a Yezhov

Comrn ssar of

WaterTransport

fel from

favour

and was

shot n 1940. lf

the

manrp laied

prcture

he s made

to

d

sappear

from

h

story.

'

Represeniation

and reaity

Facts

and fiction

Case

slLrdy Thomas

Hoepker

i



The manipulated

scene

A very

dltferent

example

of

manipu

ation

of

the scene

rather

than

the

image

-

was

uncharacteristlcally deployed by

Don

N,4cculljn

in

his

1968

photograph

Body

of

a

North

Welnan]ese

soldier'

Hue, Vielnam

ln

af

interview

with Colin

Jacobson,

N'4cCullin

recalled;

lhere

was a

kind

af insanily

in

the

atr there

had

been

day

after

day af

btoadleuing.

/

came

across

the

body

of

a

youno

\

ie,

aona

<aloet

Some

,4rnpltcdn

so/drers

were

abusing

him verbally

and

stea/ing his

things

as

souvenlrs

/l upset

me

-

lf

thls

man

was

brave

enough

Ia

fight

far

the

freedom

ot'

his

cauxlry,

he shou/d

have

respect

lpased

him

with

his

few

possesslons for

a

purpase,

far

a

reason'

ta make

a

stalemetl

. Ifelt

I

had

a kind

of

puritanical

abligatian

lo

glve

this

dead

man

a

vaice.

ln

the

s

ncere

effort

to

make

the

most

effective

phoiograph

-

how far

would

you

go?

Al

of

life

presents

ttself

as

an

lmmense

accurx lation

of

spectacLes.

EverYthing

that

was

directly

lved

has

rnoved

away

rnto

a

representaton'

Guy

Debord,

writer

and

theorist

113

Title:

Death

of a

loyalist

militiaman,

C6rdoba

front,

Spain,1936

Photographer:

Robert

CaPa

Capa

famous

y

said,

if

yo r

piciL.lres

aren

t

good

enough

YoLr're

nol

c ose

enough'.

Here

we wiiness,

at cLose

range

the

momeni of

a

so

diels

death

Picked

out bY a

sniper

s b let

A

andr.ark

P

cture

n

the

hislory ol

photojournalsm,

ii

has,

nevertheless,

been

dogged

by susprc

ons

that

t was

staged

l.1l



Hyperreality

This

chapter

opened

wilh

the assurI]pt

on

thal we

know

the

differefce

betweef

llusion

artd realily

and, of

coursc. ln

q,-nerat

lertns

we do. However,

it has also

been argued

here

and

n

the

prev ous chapter.

that

rea

ily as exper

enced in

socia

terms

(w

th

respect

to bel efs and

'norma

behav our,

afd

the meanings we

g

ve

to olrlects) s

doodL

lof

d

g.agad

o.oga r

shoft represenlalions.

Th

s

t is

proposed

s a

perlect

y

natural

staie of affa

rs

However,

it

has

lleen

argued

by lor

example,

Guy

Debord n

lhe

Soc/ety of the Spectac/e

(1967)

that

oLrr

cu ture is so saturated by

images

-

on televrsrof n advertrsing, and

now

the

nternet

and that we

are so

mmeTsed

n consumeT

sm

that realty now

ex

s1s

pr

mariy n

terms of those mages and

the

des res and re ationsh

ps

they

s

gn

fy.

87

These

ldeas

have

been

fu(her

deve

oped

by

French

phi

osopher

Jean

Bauclr

lard

(1929

200l),

wlro is

associatecl

w

th

the

te

|s

simLrJalio.

and hvpetre.ttitv

tr BrLrd

Ia..:t.s

vjew,

the

signllters ol

meanjng

n

our cu ture

are

ncTeas ng

y

detached from

a

relerence

to

physica

realty

and

fstead

refer

to

other

slgnifiers

n an

end

ess

cha I

of

sign f

cat on.

This

dea s

perhaps

most

eas

y

underslood

n re ation

to brand ng:

a brand is mere

y

a

name

that

s

gnif

es

a set of assoc

ations with

ce

ellrity w

th

g

amour,

w

th siatus

w

th

images

which in turn

lend meantng

ancl

va

ue to

a commod ty wh

ch

may

otherw

se

be ndist

ngu shable

ftom a

ternat ve

products.

Thus,

a set

of meanings

values

and

even

dent

t

es (see

Chapter

4) may

be constructed

eniire

y

out

of

jmages.

We

ale nvited

to mode

our'real'se ves

upo|

Idg6

hd d6d

-

ltd

,t"

a

^

n

the

ha I

ol

m

irors

of

postmodern

cu ture,

we exper ence,

in Baudr lard's

wotds the

oss of the

real;

images

beget

mages

realty

is

an efdless

p

ay

of

s

gfif

ers.

:;

1J

Title: The

corner

shop,2011

Photographer

Alex

B

and

B an.ls

p

ciLIe

presenls

an

ef.ha

rted

scene a \r,/e sto.ke.l

shotr has mag

ca

y

mater a zed

n

/ood and

The

hype(ea

-.ffed

was

achi-.v-.d

by

pa

nstak ngly

mat.h

fg

o.ations

and i,oht fg

afd

ayer ng

nages

Soth shop

afd

wood

and

\|rere

shot

jLrsl

afler s nset

yr

th

the

\)r'ood and.l-.arino

caref

\,'

t tc s rnllalE ihe

effects of

hL

spi

rng

ironr

lhe

shop w ndows

3.rr

Representalon alral rea it,l Facts

and

fiction Case

stLraly

lhomas

Ho,.pk-.r



i:i:.33

Facts and

fiction

'Real

lite':

street

photography

Rea fe

does,

of course

go

of Real

lfe

s on

the streets that

is

where

th ngs

happen. The h rfan story s a soc al one

't

d

l-

o.

Pld

lJ

b'i

P

b

spaces. From the

start

photographeis

were

dra\/n

lke

magnets

to

the

theatre

of the streei wh ch

provjdes

r ch

and

nexhaustib e subleci rnalter.

And ndeed, the sublect matter can

be

regarded

as be

ng

L.rnlquely

matched

to ihe rnedium. The appeal of streel

photography

s that t

gves

us a direct

(and

somelimes amus

rg

or voyerr st c)

ins

ght

nto the

rea

ives ol

rea

people

lts

cu[efcy

s spontane ty

afd

authent c ty

But

street

photography

a

so

preclse

y

exemp f es

the

ssues d scussed

I

thls

chapter

For examp e,

Robe(

Do

sneau's

'or0o

oogdp-o'd o

pl-.

igi

,

Paris street seems to capture

perfect

y

the

romarce

and

sponlare ty

ol

young

ove:

a couple

ost

n

each

otherand

bl ssfLrly

unaware of

passers-by

ard

the

photographel

who has snatched the monrent

Does t change

the

mpact ol the

p

cture

to lea r

that

1 s

posed?

lvlany have

been d sappo nted by lh

s

revelat

of

for

t

seems

to d m nish

ts truthfu fess

Do sneau c airned

to

have w

tnessed

ihe

coup e embrac

ng

but was too difl dent

to

phoiograph

them direct

y

and

so asked

them

to

repeat the r k ss for his

camera.

The key ssue

here is

context and

purpose

I

the

ntention

s to represent

af

dea

-

rl this case romafce

-

would

a su[ept]lioLrs and

possilr

y

techn ca ly

awkward shot

be superior

to a

control ed

and composed

picture

oi a

performance?

lf n

captur

ng an eveft,

a

momenl

the

dea shot ls m ssed or ludged s there a

profi

em in re

enaclmeft

for the

cameta?

Obvio s

y.

n nrany c

rcrmstarces

th s v,/ou d be h

ghly

lnappropr ate

Street

photographers

have emp oyed both

opef

and covert rnethods to

captL[e the

realty

oJ

the street: some me

I

nto the

background

(lenr

Cart er Bresson) and

a^r

odrdt6

,.itL

a-t

subjects

(D

ane Arbus); some

aggressive

y

push

ihe

r

car.reras nto lhe faces of

strangers

(Bruce

Gi

den)

wh le

some set

up cameTas

and

ghts

and wait for

peop

e

to enter the frame

(Ph

I

p

Lorca

d Corc a).

be

eve that street

photography

s

centra to the rssre of

photography

thal

it

s

prreV pholograph

c

whereas

.he other

genres,

such

as

andscape

and

portrart

piotography

are a ti c

i-nore

app ed, more

n'r

xed

I wlth the

ristory of

pa

rt rg and other

art

forr.rs'

Joel

Meyerowitz,

street

photographer

Title: Woman wa

k ng

Avenue, New York.

US

Photographer:

E--

-

.

G

ld-.

r

s stree:

:

..

s a lress

e

a- l

Workr' r:r':

-

:

:

,..,'trhsr rr:'.:,

p

LL res

fala:

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fac s Thc r-.:-:.

,

.

o\",

er

j

1,,'e,iii

-::

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rea

st c. arn.l

: . :

oi anE e

ar

.._

l



-

89

Title:Woman

walking

on

Filth

Avenue,

New

York,

US,1992

Photographer:

Eruce G

den

Giden

s

sireet

photography method

s

aqqress \re

and

coftrovers

a.

\,^/ork

nat ina.rowa

he

,r

(Lrr|

ra

th

hls

ca

eraan.l

fashLolake

pratLres

nch-.s

frol.]

strangers

laces The

res ts

are str

k

ng ariLl

Powerfu

y

erpreSs ve

at once

rca

st., and

p

ain

y

the

produ.t

aif ang e ensand

qhtnq

R.presentat

on

an.l

reaty

Factsandfiction

Casestudy Thcnras

l.ocLiker



.g0.:.:..:.Ca5estudi::Thotias.Hoepker1:i..:

Q_asc

stud:y

Thomas

(

Hoepker

ln

choosing New York as their

target, the

perpetrators

of the terrible events

of

11

September 2001

ensured that the appalling spectacle

ot two airliners

crashing into the

World

Trade

Center,

and ihe ensuing carnage, achieved

unprecedented

medla coverage. No

other city n the world could have

guaranteed

the immedlate attention

of more

photographers

and film

crews.

There can

be little

question

that

the cumulative evidence of thousands

of

photographs

taken

on

the

day add up to a

clear and

tragic

narrative of death

and

destruction, and

also

of

many

acts

of heroism.

l\,4any

photographs

have

acquired iconic status, functioning

both as dramatic documents of that

terrible event, and

as

powerful

symbols of a

community

responding

to attack.

What,

however, are we to make

of

Thomas

Hoepkeas

photograph,

young

people

on the Brooklyn waterfront,

September 11,

2001.

Before

reading on, note down

your

interpretation

of

the scene:

.

What is

denoted in the

picture?

State

precisely

what

information

the

picture

iiterally

presents.

.

What

does the scene tells

us about

ihe

people

represented?

What do

you

think they

make

of the scene they are witnessing?

'

Where

and what,

is

the truth

of

this

image?

The facts can

be stated

briefly:

five

people

are sitting in a sunny waterside

spot, with a view towards Manhattan

lsland where lhe

plume

of smoke

issuing from

the World Trade Center ls

clearly visible. This much can be

regarded

as

objective record.

Hoepker's cameia has caught the appearance

of the scene

truthfully.

The

people

appear relaxed, which,

given

the'context

gives

rise to an

uncomfortable

possibility

-

are they insensitive

to

the

tragedy

unfolding

before

them? As Hoepker, himself,

put

it Haw could this

group

of

coal

laoking

young

people

slt there so relaxed and seemingly

untouched

by the

mothet

of all

catastrophes unfolding in

the background?



91

.,]

rr:l

,'i].r:r

ij;

$ff

3.16

IlF

Titlei

Young

people

on the

Brooklyn

waterlront,

September

11,2001

Photographer:

Thomas Hoepker

Blt

for

the

thick

p

ume of smoke

n the

background, and the

knowledge of what th

s sign

fies,

the

scene appears,

as

Hoepker

has

comnrented,

almost

idylLc

One of

the

recurrenl

problems

n read ng

photographs

s to square apparently

object ve

vlsual

evidence

w

th sublective interpretat on

coloured

by assumpiions and

retrospective

knowledge

Facts

and Frction

.

Case

study: Thomas Hoepker



Hoepker

rejected

the image for

publication

in the immediate

aftermath

of

the

event,

because

it was too

'ambiguous

and

confusing'. When the

picture

did

surface,

nearly

five

years aJterwards, it

sparked

a

debate about its

interpretation. Hoepker

has

described

the making of

the

picture:

as

a

professional

photographer,

he was trying

to

make his way

to the scene of devastation

and

glimpsed,

en rcule, an

almost idyllic

scene ...

f/owers,

cypless trees, a

group

af

young

people

sitting

in the

bright sunshine

.. . while the dark, thick

plume

of

smoke

was

rising in the

background. lgot

out of the

car,

shot three frames

of

the

seemingly peaceful

setting and drave

an hastily.

As will

be the

case in much

documentary

photography,

he

djdn't speak

to the subjecis; he

didn't ask

about

their response to

the event and

he

didn't ask

permission

to

photograph

them.

The easy interpreiation

of

the

group

as

relaxed

and apparently

uncaring was

forcefully challenged

by Walter Sipser,

one

of

the group pictured.

He wrote:

A snapshot can make

mourners attending

a funeral look

like they're

having a

party.

Thomas Hoepker taok

a

photograph

of

my

gilfriend

and me sitting

and talking

with

strangets against

the backdrop

ot

Lhe

smoking ruin

ol

Lhe Warld kade

Center...

We

were in a

profound

state af

shock and

dlsbe/lef, like

evetyone else

we

encountered that

day...

[we

were]

in

the

middle

ol

an animated discussion

about what

had

just

happened.

The reality of the

momenl,

truthfully recorded

in the

phoiograph,

is that,

vjsible smoke

and

audible explosions

(being

indexical

signifiers denoting

fire and

destruction)

connoted

a

terrible accident

or attack,

along with

pain

and

suffering.

However,

this reality

amounts to

a bewildering

visual

phenomenon,

which is

yet

too raw

to

be

furnished

with explalatior

and

meaning:

the witnesses of the

event could

no

more

be expected to have

a

full

understanding

of

the reasons for what

they

are

seeing or what

its consequences will

be

than Hoepket

(or

the viewer

of

the

picture)

could

know

what

those witnesses were

saying or thinking.

It

was only in retrospect

that

a meaningful

account of

the

day could

be

pieced

together from evidence,

of

which

Hoepkefs

picture,

for all

its

amblgui'iy,

is

one tiny, but valuable,

piece.



Title:

Wortd

Trade

Center

attacked,

September

11, 2011

Photographeri

Spencer

platt

The

day

afler

the

attack

on

The

World

Trade

Center.

New

York the

world

s

media

was

dominated

by

p

ctures

lke

thisrthe

scale

and

horror

of

the event

s straightforward

y

represented

yet

the visual

image

is

drsturbrnq

V

rem

niscent

of a

scene

from

a

disaster

movie

Synopsis

This

case

study

has

used

semiotics

to

show

how

the,truthful,

representation

of

a scene

may,

nevertheless,

be

highly

ambiguous

and

open

to

potentially

misleading

interpretation.

.

The

truih

and

meaning

of

an

evert

cannot

necessari y

be

grasped

s

mp

y

through

the

act

of

seeing

t;

explafat

ons

come

later.

-

The

truth

of

a

photograph

les

if

show/ng

what

a

scene

lookeLl

lke.

at a

part

cu

ar ntoment.

from

a

particular

p

ace,

recorded

by

a

part

CUIaT

car|era

afd lers

.

The

nteipretat

on of

a

photograph

(as

of the

ev-.nt

it

represents)

s

subjecl

to

knowledge

and

assumpt/ons

which

are

externa

to the

image

tself

311

milt

Truth and Lies_Reading Photo.pdf

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Transcript of Truth and Lies_Reading Photo.pdf