Research – Reading Images

03/12/08

This piece of work is looking about how you might ‘read’ an image and giving some example of ways other people have done so.

Singular Images:

In her essay on the Diane Arbus photo of a Brooklyn family (Howarth, Alexander and Jobey, 2005)  Liz Jobey tells a story. She describes the image – but picks up on things that are not obvious on first glance, the fact that everybody is looking at different things, the camera strap covering the wedding band, the contrast between the shy looking man and the almost defiant woman. She describes it as ‘the unhappy family snapshot’, and of course, it wasn’t a snapshot but a carefully posed photograph by a well-known photographer, who, at least in retrospect, is best known for her edgy, somewhat uncomfortable images of people who are often on the margins of society.

Jobey gives some facts about the picture, she identifies the family and their history and gives the text that accompanied it when it was shown in a magazine. Interestingly, the text has been altered from the original Arbus quote by the magazine’s editor which Arbus later complained about. The altered text does give a subtly different reading to the image (the pain is between the couple or the pain is felt by the photographer) – and both texts alter the meaning from an image without any explanation – when the reader might focus on the children rather than the parents. To me – the father is the more sympathetic character, while I see the mother as aggressively portraying herself with her makeup and hairdo.

Jobey then goes on to talk about Arbus and her unusual methods of photographing her collection of ‘freaks’ which raised, even then, questions about the ethics of taking images of people who might not have been able to give full, informed consent. However, Arbus clearly saw a difference in them that she felt should be recorded, not ignored or avoided, her ‘singular people’.  It became a ‘balancing act’ between her interests and earning money which she was very aware of. Jobey also talks at length about Arbus’s background and how that impacted on her both becoming a photographer and on the type of images she took and how different experts interpreted that in different ways (Sontag v. Szarkowski).

Jobey also talks about the context of the image. It was not the only image of that family, another was taken in their home, which I’d described as very typical of the working-class homes of that time. It also echoes the uncertainty that was present in the USA then. A country of protests, Vietnam, civil rights, feminism. A generation that was not so full of optimism as might appear on the surface. A generation where anyone could be important, and the mainstream was not the only option.

Overall, in a very long discussion, Jobey uses a ‘singular’ image to both discuss the image itself, to give a history of (and a feeling about) the photographer and to talk about the context and social history in which it sits. All these facts add to understanding of the meaning of the image and must have taken considerable research. The essay shows how it is possible to discuss an image and to use it to illustrate the history of the time it was taken in a detailed way.

Beneath the Surface (weareoca,2012)

Assessing images is crucial, both to the photographer and to anyone who looks at images.

1. Level 1 – formal
   1. Denotations – description of what is there
   2. Connotation- description of how it makes you feel – both in a generic sense (how everyone would feel) and a personal sense (how you feel and why)
2. Position within the wider context – not just photography but also art and literature
   1. What do any words mean? What does the title imply?
   2. How does it fit within the canon of the rest of the artists work?
3. Where is the image meant to be shown? How big is it? Is it an individual image or one from a book or series?
   1. All these alter how you consider an image

Advertising

Judith Williamson in Source (Williamson, 2013) deconstructs an Apple advertisement for an iPad. She describes the image and points out the connotation that we are ‘expected’ to see – the light pouring in from the iPad, sunshine, illumination, being touched by a God-like power – and the contrasts it with the reality of how Apple’s workforce in China is treated. The ‘poem’ implies greatness on the part of the designer and is uncaring about the workforce (was this deliberate or did the writer simply not think about how it could be read – either of these is equally damming). The girl appears to be mixed race in this.  I noticed and commented on a similar tendency in ads recently. Is this intended to promote universality of use or political correctness?

Summary:

To analyse any image in anything other than a superficial way you need to be aware of the image, its denotations and connotations – but, just as importantly, to be aware of how it is used, the context of what is being sold – and every image is trying to sell something, even if it is not always as obvious as in an advertisement- and what else is happening in the world at the time the image was produced/used. It is important to remember that when images are reused that the original context may well have changed – and the new viewers may not have any awareness of it, and therefore read a completely different set of meanings into the image. This is even more true when the culture has changed or the image is being viewed in a different part of the world.

References

#weareoca. (2012). Beneath the surface. [online] Available at: https://weareoca.com/subject/photography/beneath-the-surface/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2018].

Howarth, S., Alexander, M. and Jobey, L. (2006). Singular images. New York: Aperture.

Williamson, J. (2013). Advertising. Source, (76), pp.8-9.