Assignment 3: Critical essay

“Using relevant case studies, discuss whether digital cameras and related technologies for the dissemination of digital imagery have affected our choice of subject matter or how we take photographs.” OCA Course Material

Word Count including quotations 3350

Word Count excluding quotations 2569

List of Illustrations

Cover illustration: Hampshire, A. (2017) Sunderland Winter Gardens [photograph] In possession of: Hampshire, N. Nottingham.

Figure 1. Hampshire, A. (2017) Roker Beach [photograph] In possession of: Hampshire, N. Nottingham.

Figure 2. Van den Borg, Z.  (2014)  [article] Available at: http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/21752/1/want-an-amazing-holiday-just-photoshop-it last accessed 15/10/17

Figure 3. Roberts, Simon. (2016) Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. [photograph]. Available at:

https://www.simoncroberts.com/work/sight-sacralization/ last accessed 31/10/17

Figure 4. Another of Mr. Shapira’s composites alongside the original (2017) [newspaper article online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38675835 last accessed 31/10/17

Has our choice of subject matter or the way in which we take images on digital cameras and mobile smart phones changed compared to analogue photography?   By examining case studies relating to domestic (vernacular) photography in the developed world, I hope to determine whether there has been change in the subjects we photograph or whether we consume snapshots differently in the digital age.

Photographs have long been associated with memory, identity and communication in creating and sharing the experience of looking at photographs. I will explore whether the subjects we photograph and share alter the priorities of memory, identity and communication. Evidence from the advent of smart phones question whether mobile digital images have transformed our online identity either accurately or through fake images.  I will examine the categories of mobile phone images and consider whether our age affects our relationship with digital images. Simon Roberts’s exhibition “Site Sacralization: (Re)framing Switzerland (2017)” captures tourists behaving differently in the digital age when taking photographs. The younger generation were criticized recently by the media for taking and sharing inappropriate selfies at dark tourism sites, so I will reflect on whether this is changing our visual culture.

Vernacular images are a popular subject throughout the history of photography. Risto and Frohlich (2011) suggest the “three values of domestic photography [are] related to memory, identity and communication” based works by Chalfen (1987) and Musello (1989) (Risto and Frohlich, 2011:103). Sontag (1973) and Barthes (1981) believed “photography’s function as a tool for identity formation as a means for communication were duly acknowledged but were always rated as secondary to its prime purpose of memory.” (Van Dijck, 2008) When changing from analogue to digital photography, these categories have remained the same, although it could be argued that with the uptake of online apps for dissemination of images on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook (communication tools) the focus perhaps shifted to prioritize identity and communication rather than memory. Harrison’s ethnographic study (2002) observed that “self-presentation – rather than family re-presentation – is now a major function of photographs.” (Van Dijck, 2008) It appears that in the early noughties, academics realized photography was undergoing a cultural change. Chiano, Chen and Isaacs (2002) and Liechti and Ichiwaka, (2000) noted adults were switching from analogue to digital cameras to record memory and family life whilst young people had access to “camera like tools for conversation and peer group building.” (Van Dijck, 2008)

In the mid-nineties, Slater argued that domestic photography was intertwined with family narratives, identity and leisure time because snapshots captured the family during family holidays and rituals. Digital photography brought a change in “the domestic context in which snapshots exist, a transformation in the domestic economy of images: digital technologies patently involve a major extension in the volume and complexity of flow of public images through domestic time and space.” He prophesized individuals would build their own photographic walls instead of compiling family albums which he saw as “acts of practical communication rather than reflective representation.” (Risto and Frohlich, 2011:104) Schiano et al. (2002) reported teens printed far less photographs than families did, preferring to share their images online. (Risto and Frohlich, 2011: 107) Similar studies suggested the emphasis was shifting towards communication being more important than memory as a value of photography among the younger generation.

By 2002, studies were executed with mobile phone imaging. A study by Radiolinja MMS[1] in Finland with 25 young adult participants using mobile camera phones found they communicated on average with 5 friends. Subject matter varied from humour, staged, manipulated and fake images. Koskinen explains that because people live in surroundings familiar to them, subject matter was described as banal and senders dramatized the images by including the “unusual, funny or shocking.” (Koskinen, 2004) Koskinen concluded that “MMS gives people means to interpret and share their life visually, and elaborate their experiences together” (Koskinen, 2004). This suggests the emphasis is on communication and identity rather than memory, confirming Hammond’s findings. Images of tourist destinations were sent like postcards, with text relevant to the recipient’s interests. Often a collection of images with themes were sent to recipients. Van Dijck (2008) explains that captions enlighten the picture, keeping the recipient in touch with the sender’s life, although argues that the individual value of the picture lessens when a caption is added making it acceptable to discard rather than archive the image. “Photographs gain value as ‘moments,’ while losing value as mementos.” (Van Dijck, 2008)

Okabe and Ito (Japan, 2003) found their participants captured images of work, social events, landscapes and pets, but in addition captured photographs as an aid memoir of something they wished to buy in the future such as a book. UK and USA studies followed, confirming a change in visual culture. These individual studies were fairly small, but when linked together, the authors categorized photographs into themes such as:

“Individual personal reflection: Affective images used for personal reflection or reminiscing. Example: Picture of a gift received.

Individual personal task: Functional images used to support some future task not involving sharing. Example: Picture of a car registration number after an accident.

Social mutual experience: Affective images used to enrich a shared, co present experience. Example: A celebration in a pub.

Social absent friend or family. Affective images used to communicate with absent friends or family. Example: Picture of muddy boots at a festival.

Social mutual task: Functional images shared with people co present in support of a task. Example: Picture of a plumbing problem for diagnosis.

Social remote task: Functional images used to accomplish task by sharing with remote family friends of colleagues. Example: Picture of a goldfish for the recipient to remember to feed.” (Risto and Frohlich 2011: 115)

Van Dijck argues that “personal photography has not changed as a result of digital technologies; the changing function of photography is part of a complex technological, social and cultural transformation.” (Van Dijck, 2008) She believes the camera remains a tool for memory, it is just that images are capable of being shared with an audience through cyberspace rather than families looking at an album.  However, danger lies in possible unauthorized distribution or lack of control of images once shared. Images may be reframed or taken out of context and move between public and personal frameworks, because “images are used as commodities that circulate through posting, tagging, sharing and viewing practices on SNS’s[2].” (Lyons et al 2016: 2)

Sharing visual stories enables self-expression and provides an opportunity for online dialogue with absent peers. (Lobinger, 2016, Mendelsen and Papacharissi, 2011 as cited by Lyons et al, 2016:2) Lyons et al, (2016) suggest that as digital devices change, different practices on social media emerge around social networking and social practices. “Identities are deliberately produced through specific stories one tells about oneself.” (MacGregor Wise and Koskela, 2013:31) Photographs of family and friends remind us of what the past looked like and how we should recall our younger self. Self-image is remodelled on previous photographs that have been taken. (Van Dijck, 2008)

In 2017, Snapchat’s daily user figures are 158million. 2.8billion images are uploaded daily and 60% of users chat with friends across the platform. Teenagers moved to Snapchat as a platform for sharing images of their daily life because their parents and older generations are using Facebook. Snapchat’s images can be set to “disappear” after so many seconds, although stored on the system and friends can screenshot images of which the originator has no control over their destination. The ephemeral nature, lack of requirement for perfection and lack of conversation thread appeals to teenagers.  A study by Oliver and Pielot (2014) suggested that in 2013, more images were shared this way than through Facebook or Instagram.

Figure 1 Roker Beach (2017)

SNS users photograph events on their phones in real time and send to recipients via Snapchat. This image of Roker Beach, Sunderland momentarily appeared on Snapchat as the sender explored the area. Excitement prompted the sender to record the image on Snapchat and add a caption so that the recipients gained an insight into the sender’s day and location. This fleeting image disappeared moments after being seen.

Mitra (2013) identifies these images as visual narbs (pieces of narrative). Whereas teenagers may post images showing where they are with a caption underneath or across it, over time, younger generations will change the type of images they post leading to discussion on where the real is. Images posted onto a digital platform can manipulate identity by controlling specific components. Baudrillard describes online identity as hyper-real, where: “the very definition of the real becomes: that of which it is possible to give an equivalent reproduction. The real is not only what can be reproduced, but that which is always already reproduced. The hyper real” (Baudrillard 1981 as cited by Mitra, edited by Macgregor Wise and Koskela, 2013:35)

Figure 2 Zilla Van Den Borg (2014)

Zilla van den Born (Dutch graphic design student) holidayed in South East Asia, or so she led her family to believe. They dropped her off at the airport and thought she was about to travel. However, at home she photoshopped herself into photographs of holiday destinations in South East Asia to deceive her family and disguised herself when leaving the house to avoid recognition. By contacting the family via Skype and posting images on social media in real time, the deception was believable.

In Simon Roberts’ current exhibition Sight Sacralization: (Re)Framing Switzerland (2017) for Unfamiliar Familiarities, Outside Views on Switzerland (part of a collection of work to mark 100 years of Swiss Tourism) the exhibition blurb explains that:

“the Swiss landscape often resembles a theater set, where tourists are transported to officially designated areas of natural beauty to gaze upon epic views from the safety of stage-managed viewpoints a process referred to as “sight sacralization” [McCannell] A place is named, then framed and elevated, before being enshrined, mechanically reproduced and finally socially reproduced across a variety of media.” (Roberts, 2017)

At the beginning of Swiss tourism, photographs such the panoramic landscape, pastoral life and national portraits built up a stereotypical romantic view of Switzerland, shaping its national identity and cultural reputation. Five non-Swiss photographers were commissioned to reframe Switzerland in 2017.  Robert’s interpretation experiences the most popular tourist hotspots located using the online app “Sightsmap” which occur when people geo-tag images of the place they visit. Large tableaux photographs and two audio visual presentations explore tourists’ observation of the landscape through their selfies and snapshots, creation of memories and remembrance of tourist sites in Switzerland. Roberts eludes to the idea of a “culture of instantaneity” meaning “the expectation of rapid, ubiquitous availability and the instance gratification of desires. Additionally […] related to a “sense of directness, of cultural proximity” (ibid)” (Hepp, 2009:148)

Figure 3 Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland (2017)

Through individual and collective identity, tourists create and interpret their own images which is captured by Roberts on film. The tourists go to great lengths in the short space of time they visit the site to produce a memento for themselves and send to families, such as men taking their tops off to appear macho in the mountain ranges, a group sharing the same homemade placard amongst themselves and individual and family group photographs were taken using selfie sticks.

“Memories are made as much as they are recalled from photographs; our recollections never remain the same, even if the photograph appears to represent a fixed image of the past. And yet, we use these pictures not to ‘fix’ memory, but to constantly reassess our past lives and reflect on what has been as well as what is and what will be. Recollecting is not simply a revisionist project; anticipations of future selves inform retrograde projections, and these mental image maps, in turn, feed a desire to impact ‘external’ (camera) visions of our selves” (Rose, 1992 as cited by Van Dijk (2008)

Users of digital cameras review the image on screen, imagine the printed result and choose to store or delete the image. If they reshoot, they might negotiate with the subject whose self-evaluation may result in a different pose. The photographer can repeat the process, including manipulating (e.g. cropping or cloning, altering the colours). However, this form of manipulation has always taken place, from a sitter in a portrait parlour expressing their preferred pose for a photographer developing the image, to painted self-portraits of historical figures. Digital photography offers more opportunity for the photographer to manipulate the image, either in camera or on a computer with editing software. ‘The shift to the digital has shown that photographs are simply raw material for an endless series of digressions. … As images, photographs encourage viewers to move beyond the physical world even as they assert the value of memory, place, and original moments.’ (Ron Burnett 2004 as cited by Van Dijck, 2008)

With access to 24/7 news channels showing journalists and news reporters presenting war zones and natural disasters, observers become spectators of tragedy through a voyeuristic gaze.  Some tourists visit these sites to take their own photographs after the event to say they were there. Rowe suggest tourists visit places such as Rwanda and Afghanistan (Sharpley and Stone, 2009:6) more for promoting their own story as opposed to journalism.

Thomas Dworzak (2016) photographed young tourists playing the online augmented reality game Pokémon Go! in Paris showing people walking slowly and stopping periodically to capture Pokémon. Through documentary photography he studied how the players changed their relationship with their surroundings. The game inventors used dark tourism sites for PokéStops and PokéGyms.  “Dark tourism”, defined by Stone (2006) includes sites of disasters, grief, graves, holocaust, genocide, persecution, communism etc.  Dark tourism is not a new phenomenon; for centuries tourists have visited Roman gladiator games, public executions and Pompeii. Today, tourists visit Ground Zero, concentration camps and disaster sites with digital cameras in search of excitement, digital souvenirs, developing their identity, building memories and communicating with others. To qualify as a dark tourism site, there must be some commodification of the area which could include a guidebook or postcard stand. The iPhone version of Pokémon Go! involved taking photos with the in-app camera, although Dworzak noted that a concentration camp asked tourists not to play the game whilst visiting.  Stone’s website (2017) clearly states that respectful behaviour must be displayed at dark tourism sites which excludes taking selfies.

Sontag commented that “most tourists feel compelled to put the camera between themselves and whatever is remarkable that they encounter.” (Sontag, 1977:10) Writing in the pre-digital age, she expands on the immortality and importance of the image.  Whilst this was probably correct at the time of writing, it seems that in the digital age the importance is the experience of being at the site, making memories and communicating photographs, although it seems that by photographing these places, spectators are still looking for emotional detachment by placing the camera between themselves and the objects.

Lee Miller’s online archives contain powerful monochrome images of concentration camps which were displayed in print at Lakeside Gallery, Nottingham (2014). Miller’s images are perhaps more horrific when viewed in print than images than visitor information might contain, because audiences assume these are real images taken at the time of her visit. The viewers are told for example that liberated prisoners are observing the remains of the dead or that the person being dragged in the bunk room is a dead prisoner. Most guidebook images are taken after the commodification of the tourist site and although act as reminders of the past, are not a spectacle. Nonetheless both types of images provide opportunity for dialogue about death in an increasingly secular society. “The photograph links us both with the dead and our own death.” (Beloff (2007) as cited by Sharpley and Stone, 2009:42) Through taking images at dark tourism sites, people become spectators of death and death is reconceptualised as memory, entertainment or education.

A search for concentration camps on Flickr showed many photographs of objects belonging to the deceased as well as images of the buildings. These, although similar, were tasteful. Google search reveals selfies are taken at dark tourism sites. These may have been taken on a modern compact digital camera with a flip screen, allowing the user to see themselves as if they were taking a selfie. The lens is no longer between themselves and the scene for security as Sontag suggests. Controversy over inappropriate selfies taken at the holocaust sites appeared in the news in 2017. In response, artist Shahak Shapira (2017) combined selfies taken at concentration camps with photographs of the dead.

Figure 4 Another of Mr. Shapira’s composites alongside the original (2017)

This prompted discussion concerning the ethics of inappropriate selfies and Shapira’s images in a world where millennials (the selfie generation) have not experienced the trauma of holocaust. In all, 12 selfies were manipulated, and most posters apologized and removed their image from social media accounts. However, it encouraged dialogue on the future of tourism at holocaust sites and how to maintain and promote visitors in the 21st century.

In “Camera Lucida”, Barthes refers to a photograph of a man about to be hanged for crime, explaining the image captures its punctum containing a catastrophe of death. (Barthes, 2007: 96). He justifies that “an image always contains this imperious sign of my future death […] each one, however attached it seems to be to the excited world of the living, challenges each of us, one by one, outside of any generality (but not outside of any transcendence)” (Barthes, 2000:97) The number of people or their companions who die whilst taking a selfie is increasing. One reason for taking death selfies is that the number of likes for an image is social currency. To increase the user’s chances of more likes, some choose to take adventurous selfies in dangerous places.  Research into selfie deaths show that men are more likely to die than women and it seems to affect 14-32-year-olds. Most deaths are caused falling from heights, being hit by a train or in water related activities. As a response to the numbers, Russian authorities developed a safe selfie campaign to reduce the number of selfie deaths. Death selfies are uploaded to social media to encourage people to discuss death in a secular society. Images of death and near death have always been present although increasingly shared through physical images at the place of death e.g. roadside memorials and virtually through SNS.

During the last 15 or so years, evidence has shown that the internet has become a commodity which changed the way people take, share and store images. Behaviour has changed as photographs have become more disposable. The advent of augmented reality games such as Pokémon Go! has changed the way players interact with and use their surroundings to promote identity as opposed to memory.  Selfies have become a dual commodity as they promote the individuals’ identity and act as a memory of time and place.

The values of photography for communication, memory and identity are still important. Several apps have been developed for sharing images online with different properties for users to choose between. On one hand the younger generation tend to favour Snapchat with its ephemeral images, whilst older users favour Facebook or Flickr with images built up as photo albums or walls. Only chosen images are printed by the user. Most apps are free, including photo manipulation software and can be operated by anyone. Subject matter includes anything and everything because mobile phone cameras are convenient to carry, negating the need for an additional digital camera. Phones are used for a wide range of subjects, including personal support when involved in an accident, sharing information with experts in search of answers, personal reminders such as shopping lists and “wish you were here” holiday images besides capturing and sharing everyday life. 

The idea of taking digital images for sharing identity worldwide is valid and although memory seems equally important, the number of users on Snapchat suggests otherwise. The visual culture of photography is changing, and images show millennials displaying their normal behaviour when visiting tourist sites rather than a modified behaviour which perhaps the older generations exhibit. However, the downside to all this freedom is the lack of control over images once posted online.

References

Barthes, R (2000) Camera Lucida. Vintage: London. (Pp 96,97)

Gunter, J. (2017) “Yolocaust” How you should behave at a Holocaust memorial? In BBC World news. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38675835 last accessed 31/10/17

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Roberts, S. (2017) Sight Sacralization: (Re)Framing Switzerland. Available at: https://www.simoncroberts.com/work/sight-sacralization/ last accessed 31/10/17

Sharpley, R and Stone, P (2009) The darker side of Travel: The theory and practice of dark tourism.  Short Run Press: Salisbury. (Pp 6, 42)

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Van Dijck, J. (2008) Digital Photography: Communication, identity and memory. [online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228637685_Digital_Photography_Communication_Identity_Memory last accessed 31/10/17

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[1] Multimedia Messaging Service

[2] Social Networking Service

Tutor feedback Assignment 3

Overall Comments

 You have produced a very well-researched essay looking at ‘whether the subjects we photograph and share alter the priorities of memory, identity and communication…examining the categories of mobile phone images and consider whether our age affects our relationship with digital images’.  No corrections advised.

Feedback on assignment

 Since no changes were recommended to assignment 3, we spent our 30 minute Skype session discussing the best way forward in terms of studio work for Nicola’s next submission for DiC (assignment 4). Below is a summary from Nicola of that session.

 Coursework

See main body of the text

Research

See main body of the text

Learning Log

See main body of the text

Suggested reading/viewing

Susan Bright – Auto Focus

Thomas Ruff – Photographs 1979-2017 Whitechapel Gallery

Student feedback (Notes on planning for assignment 4)

Plan for Assignment 4: Digital Identities

Develop a project around identity within the current digital climate. Could be autobiographical or could be a critical examination of part of digital culture.

Probably going to go down the autobiographical route. Interested in masks and hats which I have to wear at work and how you can hide behind it / change identity slightly when hat colour changes (job as a theatre nurse is hierarchical). Effect of wearing masks and using body language to communicate. Assume different roles in life. Interested in use of mirrors – when you look in a mirror, who is being reflected back at the viewer? Aging.

My amended plan following our conversation: 

Look at John Stezaker’s portrait work. Wendy’s advice is keep it simple! Move facial structures around, collage. Wendy also suggested looking at Hans Eijkelboom, Richard Price’s nurses and Anne Collier for representation of femininity. Could follow Cindy Sherman on Instagram – aging body.

Thomas Ruff’s exhibition in Whitehall Gallery looks really interesting. I was famililar with his portrait work but not his digital image work. It would be thought-provoking to see this and experiment using some of his ideas. I had thought that one way of displaying this would be a typology. Date organized for visit to Gallery.

Other ideas discussed were Susan Bright’s book – Auto Focus which I have found in a local library to read as preparation work. Coloured gels may add interest? Not considered this route so will need to investigate. Could explore archived nursing photos or look at nurses have been represented through the ages – gaze. E.g Benny Hill type representation, postcards, modern nurse.

I am feeling confident about this now I have discussed it. There could be a lot of work although I think it will be fascinating to explore and experiment. Wendy suggested that it may be something to revisit in the future, e.g level 3 which is not something that I had considered.

Compassion Fatigue

Source: Campbell, D. (2012) The myth of compassion fatigue. [online] Available at: https://www.david-campbell.org/2012/02/29/the-myth-of-compassion-fatigue/ last accessed 19/9/17

Compassion fatigue is linked to photography because images are used to promote charitable appeals and media coverage shows human suffering.

Compassion fatigue in media and politics is different from compassion fatigue in health and social care (excess of compassion or secondary post-traumatic stress disorder.) Compassion fatigue was defined in the OED in 2012 as:

 “an American term meaning “apathy or indifference towards the suffering of others or to      charitable causes acting on their behalf, typically attributed to numbingly frequent              appeals for assistance’ esp. donations: (hence) a diminishing public response to frequent charitable appeals.”

Cause (numbingly frequent appeals of charities acting on behalf of others)

Effect (apathy / indifference)

Evidence of effect (diminishing public response)

Cohen – populist psychology thesis of compassion fatigue – information overload, desensitisation and normalisation. People respond on individual basis.

How is it perceived that the viewer acts when looking at atrocity pictures? Do we act? Or are we overshadowed by politics? Do we believe in the compassion theory because it fits with what theorists would like to think is happening?

Debate over not responding to crises has been happening for centuries (as early as 1500’s) with claims that photography is an analgaesic (John Taylor), contemporary cliché (Susie Litchfield).

Relationship between imagery and social impact could be described as pornographic (violation of dignity, taking things out of context, exploitation, objectification, putting horror and misery on display, encouragement of voyeurism, construction of desire, unacceptable sexuality, oral and political perversion etc) Argument falls down because although it is assumed that we are subjected to much pornographic imagery (and the voyeuristic side of it makes us want to look) we fail to recognise when we should respond to something portrayed by the media. If we had compassion fatigue, we would have an aversion to seeing the images. Evidence does not match this.

Susan Sontag claimed compassion fatigue existed in On Photography, but by Regarding the Pain of Others, she revoked her argument.

Susan Moeller popularized the theory of Compassion Fatigue with a book in 1999.  “Moeller’s claims to reveal how in her hand ‘compassion fatigue’ is an empty signifier that becomes attached to a range of often contradictory explanations and factors.”

Evidence shows that individuals respond differently to media coverage and it will be issue dependent. “Identifiable victim effect” – if the victim is identifiable people react differently than if the issue is statistics. An image of one person in distress is more effective than two or more or accounts. A sad facial expression gave the viewer “emotional contagion” and sympathy with the victim.

Emotional engagement, on the other hand, allows the individual to look at the context surrounding the victim in more detail. This can negate the need to send donations to the disaster / issue.

18/9/17

BBC posted a video clip entitled “The boy who shocked the world – It has been a year since the suffering of Saleem became the face of Yemen’s suffering. But where is he now?”

A sensational claim of the world being shocked at the 350,000 children in Yemen focussed on Salem, a 6yr old who had severe malnutrition. He was taken to a WHO feeding centre where his malnutrition was treated. The BBC claim the number of starving children has now risen to 2million. The BBC reporter also shares that Salim is now suffering from brain damage and stunted growth.

Researching Salim, he does appear in several papers, just giving, UNICEF etc. There have been updates on his progress and people have given money. UNICEF were half way towards their target last year and the crowd funding doctor nearly reached a fifth of their target before closing the just giving page.

I was surprised that the account was so honest. This seemed to fit with the emotional engagement which Campbell mentions.

The Guardian’s article (Hodal, 2016) mentions compassion fatigue being one of the reasons that people are not giving generously to all the natural and political disasters such as the Yemen food crisis, quoting Moeller to authenticate the arguments. She also suggests that the United Nations is being driven by results and political leaders such as Trump have a part to play in deciding what is funded. However, I have to agree with Campbell’s theory that compassion fatigue is used as an excuse and perhaps to keep the American dream alive?

Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/41313552/yemen-war-what-happened-to-saleem

http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/19/pictures-show-incredible-recovery-of-starving-boy-who-was-victim-of-yemen-crisis-6201291/

https://www.rt.com/news/359343-yemen-children-suffering-war/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-39248860

https://www.unicef.org.au/blog/stories/june-2017/photos-change-the-way-you-think-about-famine

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Yemenfamine?fb_comment_id=1214230118648140_1218193658251786#fbe0ba71e05d64

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/un-biggest-aid-appeal-fears-of-compassion-fatigue

Post-photojournalism

Patrick Chauvel, a war photographer of 40 years exhibited Guerre Ici (War here) in Paris (until 2011) and Bayeux. His images fall into the genre of photojournalism although the creative images are contemporary augmented reality. These combined pairs of images (2.5 metres x 2 metres each), displayed the original scene of war from places such as Chechyna, Beirut and Panama which provides the context followed by an interpretation of what could happen in Paris. Initially Chauvel’s collection contained an image of the Twin Towers and the London bombings, but following the two actual terrorist attacks, he removed them.

As a photojournalist, Chauvel “monitor(s) the situation and tells a story.” (Chauvel, 2012) His images illustrate and inform the public what is happening in the war zone. Chauval works on both sides of the war to understand the situation to make informed images (photojournalism). In an interview with Military History (2012), Chauvel clarifies that he works for history books and archives as well as the news. His images carry a warning for people to remember that peace is fragile and war can happen at any time to anyone, providing a means to influence political parties.

It took Chauvel 10 years to be exhibited in Paris because his work was seen as too political or disturbing. However, at the Monnaie de Paris (2011) his work was shown with actual footage of the Liberation in Paris in 1982 from the Paris Match and Michael Wolf’s screen grabs from Google Street View in Paris. Organisers told Chauvel, “You can show real war pictures, but not transpose war into Paris.” (Marzolf, 2015)

By introducing war to a familiar space, the viewer is asked to question what happened if war came to Paris? How do we see war when we are peace? The comments posted on the internet are mixed, although I wouldn’t take this as a real indication of how well his work was received. The websites are mainly in French so translation was a little difficult.

Chauvel addresses the issues of image fatigue by using familiar buildings and landscapes into which he inserts familiar scenes from wars. The colours are fairly dark and smoky reminiscent of painted landscapes by artists such as Turner. By showing the original war scene and then the photomontage, the viewer sees that this is not one particular war; for example, the soldiers’ uniforms are different, but this is an augmented reality which hasn’t happened yet. Because we are used to seeing war portrayed by reporters in action, the viewer look more closely at the image and realise this may not necessarily be a faraway land.

Chauvel was in Paris at the time of the attack on the Bataclan and Café le Carillon (2015). He reacted in the same way as he would when in a war zone, capturing the same facial expressions and emotions on people, with the same symbols such as candles, shrouds etc. This war was different in the fact that it was about freedom rather than religion.

Supposing that footage of a terrorist attack was inserted into a familiar landscape, the viewer might think that the image was too realistic and not see the point that the photographer was trying to make. I think Chauvel’s images have been carefully chosen to fit with the situation, drama, perspective, landscape and allows the viewer to consider war images from their memory in order to start asking questions. There is a danger that the images could be received as fake news but by displaying them in an exhibition with an explanation or on building walls with the original image, the message remains clear.

References

Military History, (2012) Patrick Chauvel an eye for war: the French photographer shot his first war at age 18 and has spent his life depicting the realities of combat. Military History, Nov. 2012, p. 44+.Academic OneFile [online] available at:

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=ucca&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA302463911&it=r&asid=c842ddcc3191e1d3196ed1a92f00c6f8. Accessed 21 Sept. 2017.

Marzolf, H. (2015) Attentats due Paris: Le temoignage du photojournaliste Patrick Cheuvel. [online]  Available at: http://www.telerama.fr/scenes/attentats-de-paris-le-temoignage-du-photojournaliste-patrick-chauvel,134424.php last accessed 21/9/2017

Bibliography

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/aug/09/luc-delahaye-war-photography-art

http://www.voir-et-dire.net/?Patrick-Chauvel-Guerre-ici

http://archives.prixbayeux.org/index.php?id=197

Charuel, M (2011) “Fears over the city” or peace unmasked. Valeurs. [online] Available at: https://www.valeursactuelles.com/societe/peurs-sur-la-ville-ou-la-paix-demasquee-28506 last accessed 21/9/17 last accessed 21/9/17

Breaking the news?

A blog post from Christopher Zara entitled "New York Post Subway Death Photo : Unethical or just tasteless?" posted on 4th December 2012 questions the decision of the New York Post to publish this image as the front cover. 

Ki Suk Han, 58, of Queens frantically tries to climb to safety yesterday as a train bears down on him in Midtown. He was fatally struck seconds later. (2012) R. Umar Abbasi 

Naeem Davis, a black street vendor allegedly pushed drunk Ki Suck Han, 58, of Chinese origin into the path of an oncoming train in a New York City subway. Han suffered life threatening injuries for which he may have received CPR on the platform after he was pulled out from the gap and died later in hospital from his injuries. Davies absconded from the scene and was later brought in for questioning by the police.

Davies remained in police custody for 41/2 years and was acquitted in July 2017 through lack of evidence having been accused of  first and second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

Zara's blog entry was published on the day that the paper went into circulation. Zara states that Twitter users questioned the actions of the photographer in taking the image and not helping. He claims the photographers response to the trauma unfolding on the station was to fire his flash several times to alert the train driver. The New York Post refused to comment on the use of the image. The morality of the New York Post's decision to publish this image is questioned. He did not question the people on the platform.

Zara raises the issue of morality concerned with not helping the man who is about to die. Kevin Z. Smith, chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethics committee checked the image was not photoshopped and responded to an interview with IBTimes stating that “It defies any sense of professional, moral or ethical judgment [Journalists are advised] to show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. It also says to avoid pandering to “lurid curiosity” and to show “good taste” when covering gruesome subjects. (Zara as cited by Smith, 2012).  

Further questions raised in the article are: Do papers see this type of image as something which will sell papers? Do the public want to see images like this? How do the family of victims feel?

By analyzing various news reports, a larger picture of the event is built up. The idea of Ritchin's hyperphotography with metadata attached to the photograph would answer some of the viewers' questions.

The photographer stated he was too far away to help and the flash was his way of alerting the train. However, he has also stated that he wasn't strong enough to help. So I don't think he can be believed.  The press are guilty of sensationalising the story. The wife and daughter of Mr. Han have not been respected or considered during this story. 

In this image the gaze is between Han and the train driver. The platform is empty. The image could be compared to an atrocity image whereby the viewer is sharing a private or voyeuristic moment between the two people.

"Pictures of people about to die, less graphic than pictures of corpses and body parts, also play on different parts of a viewer's psyche. Where images of dead bodies often push viewers away, creating a sense of distance and objectification, images of impending death do the opposite: They often draw viewers in, fostering engagement, creating empathy and subjective involvement, inviting debate. … About-to-die images tweak the landscape on which images and public response work, suggesting that certain news pictures do not surface by playing to the much-touted rational and reasoned understanding that journalism is supposed to provide. Instead, images of impending death play to the emotions, the imagination, and the contingent and qualified aspects of what they depict." (Zelizer, B as cited by Lowder, 2012)

"Contemporary critics dismiss problematic images as pornographic and launch ad hominem attacks against photojournalists. These critics seek something that does not exist: an uncorrupted, unblemished photographic gaze that will result in images flawlessly poised between hope and despair, resistance and defeat, intimacy and distance … They want the worst things on earth … to be represented in ways that are not incomplete, imperfect, or discomfiting." (Linfield as cited by Lowder, 2012) 

This image could be portrayed as showing what the Americans find disturbing about the treatment of New York's mentally ill and homeless. However, the public choose to see the event and not read further into it, instead laying the blame with the photographer and the newspaper. 

Bibliography
Conley, K. (2012) Suspect confesses in pushing death of Queens dad in Times Square subway station. New York Post. [online] Available at: http://nypost.com/2012/12/04/suspect-confesses-in-pushing-death-of-queens-dad-in-times-square-subway-station/ last accessed 11/9/17
Zara, C. (2012) New York Post Subway Death Photo : Unethical or just tasteless? International Business Times. [online]. Available at: http://www.ibtimes.com/new-york-post-subway-death-photo-unethical-or-just-tasteless-918619 last accessed 11/9/17
McKinley, J and Alani, H. (2017) Man who pushed passenger to his death on subway tracks is acquitted. New York Times [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/17/nyregion/naeem-davis-subway-death-ki-suck-han.html?mcubz=0 last accessed 11/9/17
Lowder, B. (2012) what really disturbs us most about the N.Y. subway death cover? Slate. [online] Available at:  http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2012/12/04/ny_post_subway_death_photo_of_ki_suk_han_why_r_umar_abbasi_s_image_disturbs.html last accessed 11/9/17

Digitising atrocity

Date: 19^th December 2016

Photographer: Burhan Ozbilici

Photograph: Shooting of Andrei Karlov at the opening of Cagdas Municipal Art Gallery’s exhibition of Russian landscapes in Ankara, Turkey

Burham Ozbilici The Associated Press (19/12/16)

This image shows Andrei Karlov, a Russian ambassador after being shot, possibly by an off-duty police officer. “The crime that was committed is without doubt a provocation at disrupting the normalisation of Russian – Turkish relations and disrupting the peace process in Syria that is being actively advanced by Russia, Turkey and Iran.” (Walker et al, 2016) This terrorist attack of a Russian assassination in Turkey could be seen as a symbol in the Turkish involvement with Russia. Turkey and Russia were restoring ties after Russia shot down a Turkish plane in 2015.

The photograph was submitted for the World Press Photo Awards in 2017 which caused controversy among the judges. Radio Free Europe highlighted that Russia officially criticised the image, labelling it as “demoralising” and showing “complete degradation of ethics and moral values.” (Ozbilici, 2017) The photographer claims to have taken the image to record what would become history and journalism.

The World Press was concerned that the image may “amplify a terrorist message in some way […] I don’t think we can forget that this was a premeditated, staged murder at a press conference. It seemed to me to reaffirm the impact between martyrdom and publicity.” (Shepherd, 2017)

At least 3 photographers captured images of the shooting which was shared globally through different processes and at different speeds, although they did not all receive the same attention. The other two images identify the victim through his face. 

Yavus Alatan Daily Sozcu Newspaper (19/12/2017) 

Hasim Kilic – Hurriet Media Organisation (19/12/2016)

Publishers may not know if the family had been informed. Ozbilici’s image is theatrical, showing the emotion on the face of the shooter and the power of the photographer to stand in front and capture the image. The viewer reads the immediacy of the image; this is happening now. The other images are not confronting the shooter. Ozbilici’s image was uploaded to Facebook and shared 58,000 times that evening. Reports suggest that other images took longer before being seen by viewers, although some news sites used all 3 images. The other images show bullet casings and give an idea of the situation.

References

Walker et al. (2016) Russian ambassador to Turkey shot dead by police officer in Ankara gallery. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/19/russian-ambassador-to-turkey-wounded-in-ankara-shooting-attack last accessed 7/9/17

Ozbilici, B (2016) Witness to an assassination: A P photographer captures attack. APPress. [online] Available at: https://apnews.com/eadca282d5d341a79bb464bbadc4fa11 last accessed 7/9/17

Shepherd, J. (2017) Photograph of Russian ambassador wins top prize at World Press Photo contest. The Independent [online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/photography/world-press-photo-2017-russian-ambassador-assassination-of-the-year-a7577551.html last accessed 7/9/17

Bibliography

Vartanian, H. (2017) Controversial Assassination Picture wins 2017 World Press Photo Award. Hyperallergic [online]. Available at: https://hyperallergic.com/358285/world-press-photo-announces-winners-of-2017-contest/ last accessed 7/9/17

Katz, A. (2016) Three photographers witnessed an assassination. One went viral. Time [online]. Available at: http://time.com/4608713/russia-turkey-assassination-photos/ last accessed 7/9/17

Atrocity and Action: The Performative Force of the Abu Ghraib Photographs (2012) Peggy Phelan

Source: Phelan, P (2012) Atrocity and Action: The Performative Force of the Abu Ghraib Photographs in Bachten, G. at al (eds) (2012) Picturing Atrocity: Photography in crisis, London: Reacktion Books. (Pp51-61)

Phelan questions what photographs of atrocities prohibit and prevent by examining images through performance. When presented with an atrocity photograph, viewer considers what has been done, what is being done and what they can do to help. In digital photography, the photograph is seen when it is taken and on viewing. Phelan argues there is a blind spot in atrocity photographs so the viewer may not see what the photograph is really depicting because the image is traumatic.

Phelan compares atrocity photographs to Barthes punctum in Camera Lucida where the press of the shutter signals the death of the subject. Barthes thought that a portrait photograph activates mourning through its affective force by providing a space for grief. If the subject is already dead, the viewer goes through more extreme grief because they are reflecting on the literal subject.

Phelan argues that atrocity photographs don’t work like this because they are in the present rather than the past tense. The viewer may find the first reading traumatic and then the image is seen in the past tense. Occasionally an atrocity photograph stands out – one which maintains its “performative force” and not judged on truth. (Phelan, 2012:54).

Atrocity photographs share a link with trauma psychology and may activate a trauma which has not been coded or decoded. People may react to atrocity with disbelief or defensiveness. Culture will affect the way the photograph is regarded. Absorption, repression, political meaning, evidence, art exhibitions and triggers to violence are all ways in which the atrocity may be viewed. Errol Morris (2009) produced a film called Standard Operating Procedure showing some of these images.

The photographs can be viewed through different gazes; the male gaze, imperial colonist gaze, racist gaze as we are used to Hollywood using scenes like this in movies. The Abu Ghraib atrocity images were taken by American soldiers of Iraq prisoners (e.g. Gilligan on a box (2003) Sergeant Ivan Frederick). America looked defensively at these photographs and questions what it said about them rather than being concerned for the prisoners. If these are compared to historical events the present tense is removed making them easier to look at. E.g. The hooded man has his head covered so the viewer does not know who he is and his pose is Christ-like. In other images, prisoners are covered in blood or handcuffed and portrayed as if close to death. This removes the subject from the photograph. Phelan explains that because of this we do not see what is really being portrayed which she described as the blind spot. Photographs are labelled – ideology, sadism, racism, ethical, pornography of war, imprisonment which still does not address the issue. The photographs were taken so that the prisoners would release intelligence information to their interrogators. The photographs are preparation for what comes next in war.

In order to see the photograph, the viewer has to recognise that people can’t see. Didl Huberman explains that

“With the visible, we are of course in the realm of what manifests itself. The visual, by contrast, would designate that irregular net of event symptoms that reaches the visible as so many gleams or radiances, “traces of articulation”, as so many indices…indices of what? Of something – a work, a memory in process, that has been nowhere fully described, attested or set down in an archive, because its signifying “material” is the first of all the image.” (Phelan, 2012:56)

The implied interpretation makes us not see what is in the photograph. Photographs pose as weapons. We ask questions. Torture is made visible. Errol Morris and Philip Gourevitch argue that

“the pose is obviously contrived and theatrical, a deliberate intervention that appears to belong to some dark ritual, a primal scene of martyrdom. The picture transfixes us because it looks like the truth, but looking at it we can only imagine what the truth is: torture, execution and a scene staged for the camera. So we seize on the figure of Gilligan as a symbol that stands for all that was wrong at Abu Ghraib – and all that we cannot and do not want to – understand about how it came to this. (Phelan, 2012:59)

The viewers ask questions such as who, why, what, when, where, how and react differently to the images which contribute to the meaning of how we view Abu Ghraib.