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Why we take pictures susan sontag summary
Photography analysis essay
Why we take pictures susan sontag summary
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Between 1500 and 1900, paintings and drawings were the main medium of visual art. They represented the universe based on the author’s imagination and technical skill. However, the birth of photography presented new possibilities and a new means to depict and show an accurate, complete and ‘authentic’ reproduction of reality. Based and inspired by Susan Sontag’s book, On Photography, this essay will discuss and explore the notion of the authentic image as well as what makes for an authentic photograph.
According to Sontag, a photograph is “able to usurp reality because first of all a photograph is not only an image, an interpretation of the real; it is also a trace, something directly stencilled off the real, like a footprint” . The photographer is able to show reality as one has not seen it before and in turn, the photograph becomes an integral part of the real. Martin Munkácsi, a Hungarian photojournalist defied and transformed the pictorialist fashion image of the late thirties with his customary approach. One particular photograph: ‘Boys at Lake Tanganyika’, epitomized the elements of serendipity and joie de vivre, which later inspired photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (whom coined the term, The Decisive Moment). Bessayon says: “I couldn’t believe such a thing could be caught with the camera, it made me realize that photography could reach eternity through the moment” .
Despite this, Sontag emphasizes that we tend to believe there is more truth in a photograph than in the world surrounding us and goes on to say that “photographs are as much an interpretation of the world as paintings and drawings are” . With that being said, how might the supposedly sheer spontaneity and effortlessness of this image be more celebrated or ac...
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...ble to state that the photograph is an art form. In doing so, it would be more than fitting to distinguish the photography of Lachapelle as good or bad based on the authentic principles that seize to exist within photography.
In conclusion, authenticity has various meanings and connotations. Whether it is in a historical, expression or cultural context, authenticity is purely subjective and immeasurable. As Sontag puts it, “photographs alter and enlarge our notions what is worth looking at”. For example, when comparing that of David Lachapelle’s image to that of ‘The Girl in The Picture’ by Nick Ut taken during the Vietnam War. It does not suffice to say one is more or less authentic than the other. They represent two completely different reproductions of reality with divergent meanings and internal messages – essentially, they are their very own photo-realities.
Tolmachev, I. (2010, March 15). A history of Photography Part 1: The Beginning. Retrieved Febraury 2014, from tuts+ Photography: http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-history-of-photography-part-1-the-beginning--photo-1908
The role of photography is questioned; he asks, what about photography makes it a valid medium? We read about the operator (the photographer), spectrum (the subject) and spectator (the viewer), also about the stimulus (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, irrefutably present, and yet already deferred” (Barthes, 76).... ...
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
The essay How You See Yourself by Nicholas Mirzoeff discusses the evolution of art. The author discusses the use of art to represent changing identities over the years including cultural practices and societal expectations. The selfie, according to Nicholas Mirzoeff’s essay, is the equivalent of a self-portrait in the previous centuries preceding the technological development required for the present day selfie. The essay explores the different periods and the significance of art, particularly self-portraits, the selfies of the time, and their development over time. The author focuses on different themes including heroism, gender definition, and the focus of an image. Mirzoeff effectively provides examples illustrating and reinforcing the themes he highlights in his essay.
Sontag, Susan. "Essay | Photography Enhances Our Understanding of the World." BookRags. BookRags. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
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.
It appears to me that pictures have been over-valued; held up by a blind admiration as ideal things, and almost as standards by which nature is to be judged rather than the reverse; and this false estimate has been sanctioned by the extravagant epithets that have been applied to painters, and "the divine," "the inspired," and so forth. Yet in reality, what are the most sublime productions of the pencil but selections of some of the forms of nature, and copies of a few of her evanescent effects, and this is the result, not of inspiration, but of long and patient study, under the instruction of much good sense…
From the creation of art to its modern understanding, artists have strived to perform and perfect a photo realistic painting with the use of complex lines, blend of colors, and captivating subjects. This is not the case anymore due to the invention of the camera in 1827, since it will always be the ultimate form of realism. Due to this, artists had the opportunities to branch away from the classical formation of realism, and venture into new forms such as what is known today as modern art. In the examination of two well known artists, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, we can see that the artist doesn’t only intend for the painting to be just a painting, but more of a form of telling a scene through challenging thoughts, and expressing of the artists emotion in their creation.
This book is a note written by Roland Barthes to record the dialectical way he thought about the eidos(form, essence, type, species) of Photographs. Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist in his lifetime, but surprisingly he was not a photographer. As Barthes had a belief that art works consists with signs and structures, he had investigated semiotics and structuralism. However, through Camera Lucida, he realized the limitation of structuralism and the impression to analyze Photography with only semiotics and structuralism. Barthes concludes with talking about unclassifiable aspects of Photography. I could sense the direction Barthes wanted to go through the first chapter ‘Specialty of the Photograph’. He tried to define something by phenomenology
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
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.
Gustave Caillebotte, however, was an Impressionist that did not rely on painting en plein-air. He turned towards the innovation that was photography, invented during the mid 1930’s, to guide him i...
"History of photography and photojournalism.." History of photography and photojournalism.. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. .
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.”