On the Narrative Level of Photographs

8/8/2019 On the Narrative Level of Photographs

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On The Narrative Level of Photographs:

Photography most immediate quality is its ability to document reality objectively. This

documentary (recording) aspect of photography is the one we are most used to in

relating to photography. Our instinct is to look at a photograph and assume that it is

an accurate representation of the reality it portrays, it shows 'an overwhelming

conviction of fact' (Goin 2001). This is a linear/empiric mode of thought that is very

easy to grasp. Is not an object reflected through the lens and recorded on the film,

very similar to its original shape? Are not the results of capturing a scene into a

photograph predictable? In this perception of photography man is a man, a house is

a house, and a street is a street. ' ..A photograph any photograph seems to have

a more innocent, and therefore more accurate, relation to visible reality than do other

mimetic objects.' (Sontag 1977) Despite the medium's hundred and sixty years of

existence this limited grasp of photography is still entrenched (Goin2001). Walter

Benjamin in his seminal 'The Work of Art In The Age of Mechanical Reproduction'

talks about the desire of the masses to bring things 'closer' that is, to have a

reproduction of reality as valid as reality itself. This attitude towards photography was

explained to me by one of my friends: "When I go to Greece and see a lovely scene

in the market place, I want to bring it home with me by taking a photograph of it".

The distinction between reality and photographic reality is easily observed. A comical

example is the following anecdote about Picasso and perception of photography:

Picasso was painting a portrait of a woman in the presence of her husband. After a

while he noticed that the husband was becoming agitated and asked about it. The

husband responded that the painting did not look like his wife. Picasso then asked

the husband to tell him what does his wife looks like. The man took a photo out of his

wallet and said: "This is what my wife looks like." Picasso after carefully observing

the photograph commented, "Small, isn't she?" (Gross and Shapiro 2001) A more

encompassing view of photography is that 'photographs are as much an

interpretation of the world as paintings and drawings are.' (Sontag 1977) '.. And thatour conventional consensus of reality is not the only version of reality'. (Gross and

Shapiro 2001)

Photography less obvious quality is its narrative quality. The photographic narrative

like the literary narrative in many cases starts with a factual reality, 'inherent in the

medium is its ability to represent both fact and fiction' (Goin 2001). It aim is to

explore, develop, and express aspects that lies beneath the surface. Photography in

that sense can be compared to literature. (Whereas documentary photography can

be compared to journalism) The work of Atget is the first concrete example of

photography and narrative, even though I would like to mention here two remarkable


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images by Gustave Le Gray of the cavalry maneuvers at Chalons taken on October

3rd and 7th, 1857.

Le Gray Cavalry Maneuvers at Chalons 1857

These images from the early days of photography transcend their intended

documentary mission. Atget intentions are difficult to decipher, but the impact of his

work is profound. Atget by removing human presence in the majority of his work

charges his scenes with muted intensity (Benjamin 1935). It can be argued that like

other artists he searches for deeper meanings in his surroundings (Paris) that he is

so connected to. His work offers a new aesthetic. We watch his photographs and

there is something there, we recognize each of the elements but their relationships

hint of a new story, its outline known, but it meanings are for the viewer to

reconstruct (Krauss 1985). Atget is the creator of proto - surreal photography (see

Boulevard de Strasbourg, Corsets 1912; Magasin avenue des Gobelins 1925).


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Atget Blvd de Strasbourg 1912 Atget Magasin Ave. des Gobelins 1925

In the photographs of shop windows he was able to create the important affect of

"Doubling", achieving a break the ordinary sequence of photographic continuity

(Krauss 1986). Atget work was published in Surrealist Magazines and thus a direct

link between the work of Atget and the surrealist artists working with photography is

established (Fuller 1976). There is a very important difference however, whereas

Atget captured existing reality the surrealists artists created it.

Surreal photography is where narrative and photography are linked together in a

concerted effort for the first time. In surrealist photography Man Ray is the central

figure. In his 'Woman 1918' (Foresta, 1985, p79) we see for the first time an image of

fabricated reality, where an object does not have a priori meaning.

Man Ray Woman 1918


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In 'Moving Sculptures 1920'(Krauss and Livingston, 1985 p120) Man Ray

demonstrates that you can begin with factual reality (hanging sheets and a basket)

and transform them into a voyage of associations that transcend the meaning of

these objects in ordinary surroundings. In surrealism, photography, literature and

writing are combined to create images that are conceptually different from those

created by "straight" photography. The photographs created by J. A. Boiffard as a

result of his collaborations with Bataille and Breton are such examples of merging

literary vision with the photographic vision. (Krauss and Livingston 1985, pp162-167)

In contemporary photography constructing narrative content is evident in the work of

Jeff Wall (Wood, 2002).

Jeff Wall The Giant 1992

Wall, like Man Ray is constructing the reality he is photographing in order to achieve

a visual experience unfamiliar to the viewer. This unfamiliarity forces the viewer to

observe and decipher its latent narrative content. Cindy Sherman work is also very

well known for its narrative qualities. In her 'Untitled Film Stills', one of her visual

strategies is to relate the images to the narrative content of films, that is, films that do

not actually exist forcing the viewer to construct an imaginary reality as the source

for Sherman's work.


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Cindy Sherman Untitled Film Stills 1979 1977

Dr. Shlomo Lee Abrahmov

References

1. Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art In The Age of Mechanical Reproduction 1935

2. Rosalind Krauss, Jane Livingston:L'Amour Fou photography and surrealismAbbeville Press 1985

3. Rosalind Krauss: The Photographic Conditions of Surrealism in

The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths MIT Press 1986

4. Rosalind Krauss: Reinventing the Medium (art and photography)

University of Chicago Press 1999

5. Rosalind Krauss: Cindy Sherman: Untitledin BachelorsMIT Press 1999

6. Mary Foresta [..et al ] : Perpetual MotifThe Art of Man Ray Abbeville Press 1985

7. Fuller, John:Atget and Man Ray in the Context of Surrealism.

Art Journal, Dec76, Vol. 36 Issue 2, pp130-138, 9p, 4bw

8. Susan Sontag, On Photography Doubleday New York, 1977

9. Philippe L. Gross, S. I Shapiro: The Tao of Photography seeing beyond seeing

Ten Speed Press 2001

10. Kelly Wood : The Death Agony of Jeff Wall Artext no76 26-7 Spr 2002

11. Peter Goin: Visual Literacy. (photography).


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The Geographical Review, Jan-April 2001 p363

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On the Narrative Level of Photographs