Truth in Contemporary Photography
Truth in Contemporary Photography
Assessment Item: Major Essay
Susan Sontag defined the photograph as a ‘trace’ directly stencilled off reality, like a footprint or a death mask. Every photograph is in some sense a document of something else, therefore giving it truthful merit. Photography is seen as a record, a piece of evidence that something happened at some point somewhere, in that time or place in front of the camera, holding its moments in stillness.[1] The photograph seeks to achieve information, truth, acceptance, evidence and existence, which then provides society with a history and individuals with memories and a proof of existence. Putting aside the notion of a photograph never lies, photography has an amazing power to provoke realism from a subject and although in a photograph we may see and know that an image has been constructed, the use of stereotypes, generalisations and the idealisms of a society may be the most influential element of an image, therefore granting it gratification as a reality. There are many different types of photographers throughout the world. In their work most photographers have different goals or have a different purpose or seek achievement depending on their points of view and beliefs on the overall outlook on photography. In this essay I will answer the question is there any need for ‘truth’ in contemporary photography? By looking at three very different photographers. The first Zoriah, an American born documentary photographer. The second Australian photographic Artist, Bill Henson. And finally Persian born fashion and celebrity portrait photographer Mario Testino.
When looking at documentary photography as a genre, it is clear that the documentary photograph does more than simply display information. It allows the viewer to be instructed to some aspects in which truth is revealed, thus allowing a document (the photograph) to be evidence or proof. Documentary photography tells us something about the world, allowing
Assessment Item: Major Essay
Susan Sontag defined the photograph as a ‘trace’ directly stencilled off reality, like a footprint or a death mask. Every photograph is in some sense a document of something else, therefore giving it truthful merit. Photography is seen as a record, a piece of evidence that something happened at some point somewhere, in that time or place in front of the camera, holding its moments in stillness.[1] The photograph seeks to achieve information, truth, acceptance, evidence and existence, which then provides society with a history and individuals with memories and a proof of existence. Putting aside the notion of a photograph never lies, photography has an amazing power to provoke realism from a subject and although in a photograph we may see and know that an image has been constructed, the use of stereotypes, generalisations and the idealisms of a society may be the most influential element of an image, therefore granting it gratification as a reality. There are many different types of photographers throughout the world. In their work most photographers have different goals or have a different purpose or seek achievement depending on their points of view and beliefs on the overall outlook on photography. In this essay I will answer the question is there any need for ‘truth’ in contemporary photography? By looking at three very different photographers. The first Zoriah, an American born documentary photographer. The second Australian photographic Artist, Bill Henson. And finally Persian born fashion and celebrity portrait photographer Mario Testino.
When looking at documentary photography as a genre, it is clear that the documentary photograph does more than simply display information. It allows the viewer to be instructed to some aspects in which truth is revealed, thus allowing a document (the photograph) to be evidence or proof. Documentary photography tells us something about the world, allowing
Bibliography: Bright, Susan. Art Photography Now. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2005 Cotton, Charlotte Kinmonth, P. Marion Testino Portraits. NY Bulfinch Press Book, Little Brown, 2002 Kismaric, Susan Rothstein, A. Documentary Photography. Boston: London, Focal Press, 1986. Scharf, A. Art and photography. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974 Sontag, S Wells, L. Photography: A critical introduction. 3rd edn. London: Routledge, 2004 Wells, L [2] Rothstein, A, (1986) Documentary Photography. Focal Press: Boston London [3] Snyder, J, Allen Walsh, N, (1982), Photography, Vision, and Representation [4] Martin, R, Spence, J, (2003), Photo – therapy: Psychic realism as a healing art? In Wells. L (Ed), The photography Reader, (p 402-409). USA and Canada by Routledge [5] Alexander, G [8] Kinmonth, P, (2002), Mario Testino Portraits, (p 5) A Bulfinch Press Book, Little Brown NY [9] Becker [10] Bathes, R, (2003), Extracts from Camera Lucidia, In Wells, L (Ed), The Photography Reader, (p 19-30). USA and Canada by Routledge [11] S.Kember ‘The Shadow of the object’ Photography and Realism