Photography, JR, Alfredo Jaar, and "Photography as a Weapon"

Photo Manipulation done by me

Manhattan Beach, CA taken by me

    In lecture this week we were spoken to by Craig Hickman, a long time photographer. He told us all about different photographers and how they manipulated the lighting and what not to change the way that the picture would come out, but what truly interested me was his viewpoint on photography. When asked why he liked photography he replied, “I like photography’s relationship to the world, because no matter how transformed it is, the photograph is still believable.” This response was really strange to me because how could it have a connection to the world if in many cases the photo has been altered. But then I realize that photography is the medium that is the least removed from reality even if it is altered in some way. Any other media takes reality and makes it into not reality because it completely changes it. For instance the three media I have already talked about; drawing, digital art and fibers. All can make realistic things but none of them are actually the real thing, they are merely based off of it. A photograph is the next best thing to the actual item, because it is an actual image of it. The fact that photography is so realistic brings up the controversy of photography. Is it considered your art just because you took a picture of it. Hickman discussed this dilemma with us and basically said that the problem is whether or not you made it or if you are merely just documenting it.  I believe that photography belongs to the person who took the picture. It was the person who took the picture who decided what lighting to use, at what angle to take the picture, and many other aspects that went into taking the perfect picture. You were the person who choose to document it so it’s your own work.

            

 One artist in this profession is JR. “JR is an anonymous photographer and artist. In his work, he embeds into neighborhoods, favelas and villages around the world, photographing the people who live there and learning their stories” (http://blog.ted.com/2010/10/20/meet-jr/). He takes picture of the people portraying their own caricature. These people come from troubled cities but he posts large pictures on buildings and walls of the local people being silly. He takes on social problems, such as the Middle East Conflict where he posted pictures of everyday citizens of Israel in the region of Palestine, and the other way around. He also put up pictures of women in the dominantly male run Africa. I think his work is not only risky but also very touching. He takes world conflicts and shows that the people living through them everyday can still be themselves. His art tells a story of the people who are not necessarily seen on the news. Because he uses photography as his medium he can tell a real life story, and the message gets through better than if he would have used a different medium.

            

 Another photographer is Alfredo Jaar. “Jaar explores the public’s desensitization to images and the limitations of art to represent events such as genocides, epidemics, and famines. Jaar’s work bears witness to military conflicts, political corruption, and imbalances of power between industrialized and developing nations” (art21.com). He uses photography to expose some of our worlds problems that first world countries do not necessarily know of or have heard of. Jaar says, “ [he] always [tries] to incorporate an intellectual and emotional element because [he] [likes] to create different entry points for the audience.” (art21.com). He uses a combination of text and photography to get his true meaning out. The hopes that people don’t ignore the text but actually engage in it so that they know the story and background of the photograph. I think his work is very moving, because a lot like JR he is exposing things people don’t necessarily know about, and may be too hard to talk about. He uses his photography to show the reality that is in this world, which is a great aspect of photography as a medium.

            

 Both a flaw and an attribute of photography is the ability to manipulate photos. Its pretty easy to do so, and I have easily taught myself how to use Photoshop and have easily been able to change different aspects of photographs.  The article “Photography as a Weapon” discusses the problems with photos that are published. For example “various major daily newspaper published, on July 10, a photograph of four Iranian missiles streaking heavenward” (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com). A very observant blogger noticed that the fourth missile was Photoshopped into the picture, and porrly and obviously Photoshopped. The thing about photography is that it is so easy to change. In magazines it is easy to make women look thinner then they really are, and prettier than they really are. Its an ethical issue that is highly discussed. I feel that when people look at photography they should consider that the picture may be altered in some way. They shouldn’t take pictures so seriously, even though it is the closest medium to reality, there is a chance that it may not be 100% reality.