Lecture 10: Roland Barthes’, ‘Death of The Author’ and Camera Lucida summary notes.

Death of the author is Barthes’ essay that expands on the ideas of how people respond to messages within text and image.

In the essay, he argues that the producer of the message only has a certain amount of control over the meaning.Barthes explains that the reader or the viewer has more control than the author as they see it with a completely fresh mind and no knowledge about the context.

The concept of ‘death of the author’ informed postmodern art practices and made them question the ideas of uniqueness, originality and authorship.

Camera Lucida is Barthes’ only text devoted to just photography alone. He tries to understand the ‘essence’ of photography using his own perspective.

Key terms:
The operator – photographer
The spectator – viewer of photograph
The spectrum – what is depicted in the photograph

Barthes recognised information in images he found in an illustrated magazine, that he believed were beyond his understanding. He defines the two elements that he finds through this as Studium and Punctum.

Studium is the general interest, it is the subject matter.
Punctum is the finer detail, which is more personal to the viewer, what stands out. – both are not something that I ever considered when looking at images, as I usually analyse the things that everyone would point out. Since this lecture, however I have been looking more closely at images to analyse with this distinction.

It is suggested that punctum is an aspect in the image that is undetectable to the photographer at the point of capture but is/can be detected by the viewer.

Lecture 9 : The Hidden Message summary notes

Roland Barthes – The Photographic Message

Roland Barthes was a french literary theorist, philosopher, writer and academic.
He wrote important texts on photography and he addressed a number of ways in which we can interpret and understand the meaning of photographs.

Barthes proposed a way of reading photographs based on a theory called semiotics.

Semiotics is a theory developed to understand how language works
It asks questions like ‘how do we use language to communicate?” and ‘what is the relationship between he words we use and the real things in the world that we are referring to?’

It comes from the ancient greek term ‘semeion’ which means sign.

It is a way of analysing meanings by looking at the signs, these can be words pictures or symbols

Key theorists

Charles s Pierce
Ferdinand de Saussure
Roland Barthes

Semiotics revel the hidden message of verbal and visual communication. it helps us learn the way that our imaginations fill in gaps and sort out misunderstandings

Aspects of study in semiotics

The sign itself
The codes or systems which are organised
The culture within the codes and signs

Pierce:
icon, index, symbol.
The icon signifies the resemblance or analogical relation that it is trying to represent.
A symbol signifies through language.
An index signifies the relationship with its references often defined by sensory features.

Saussure – Signified
Defined a sign as being composed of the form it takes and concept it represents

Barthes :
The photographic message.

Roland bathes added the linguistic science of semiotics and used it to interrogate culture, using the study pf verbal language to cultural phenomena.
He developed a common vocabulary and method for critical analysis of culture.

As a linguist, Barthes made a distinction between messages and codes.
Message – singular, meaningful unit of discourse.
Code – abstraction created b the reader, reconstructed from the materials provided by the message.

Barthes argues that the distinction between messages and codes is problematic when dealing with photographs because of the special nature.

The reality effect of photographs makes the image appear to be natural rather than constructed..
The photograph transmits the literal reality of the scene depicted. There is no requirement to set up a relay between the object and its image to create a code.

The photographic paradox are photographs that appear to be factual but it is likely that they have connoted messages.
The photographic paradox is a coexistence of two messages. The Denotation and the connotation.

The connotation is what is suggested to the viewer, actions, clothing etc

Conntoation comes in different forms
Perceptive
Cognitive
Ideological and ethical

The denotation is what is literal in the photograph, so it is what you see as it is, the factual elements. Person, text etc

Up until this lecture, I had never realised the way I see images, or the way I pick images apart to understand them. It is a subconscious thing that I do.
Connotation and denotation are easy to do without thinking about it, but when it’s on your mind, it becomes very difficult to do.

Lecture 8 : Walter Benjamin Towards a Theory of Photography summary notes

Walter Benjamin was a jewish literary theorist and a marxist cultural/literary critic and philosopher.

Critical Theory is essentially the same as marxist but with some differences:
Treats society as a whole
is interdisciplinary and not just economic
aims at society that is rational and free
means to reveal how contemporary capitalist society deceives and dominates the economy and culture.

Benjamin’s writing and ideas were presented as fragments in sections that reflect his thought process.

An article that was written about Karl Blossfeldt’s ‘plant photographs’ suggested that photography can reveal new things to us even with the most ordinary objects. It contains indications of a theme that appears a lot in Benjamin’s later texts on photography.

‘Human Perception’

Human perception has two forms, three dimensional space and one dimensional time. The human sensory and cognitive follows these forms regardless.

‘we can stop time’ ‘we can reveal movement by speeding up and slowing down time.’

A short history of photography
Benjamin’s treatment of the subject goes beyond chronological developments, his ideas o the cognitive and political aspect of photography introduced his concept of the ‘optical unconcious’

Photography also changes perception:
we can time travel
the photographs depict a particular moment which allows us to go back to that time and relive it in our heads
it stops individuals in their tracks and helps them preserve a moment which makes it a mystery
Walter Benjamin introduced the concept of the ‘aura’ which is considered a strange web of time and space.

The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction – 1936

The text examines the effects of modernity on the work of art in particular
Benjamins key work on the sense of perception bought about by new technologies and film
Extensive discussions of the concept of ‘aura’ upset this tradition.The ‘aura’ of work is distance from us and it’s unattainability which derives importance and value.
Photography makes art work accessible in all times and places instead of being an object of the reproduced art work.

Summary of Benjamins key ideas

Photography is a medium that transforms us psychologically, culturally and politically.
The transformation of human perception means that we can see the world beyond the capacity of our own senses.
The optical unconscious proceeds from photographs that are of both the past and present.
Aura is undermined by reproduction and was destroyed by mechanical reproduction.

Lecture 7: Analysing Photographs summary notes

John Berger was in a TV show and a book and shown how what we see is influenced by a host of assumptions when nature of beauty, taste, gender and more is concerned.
Berger explored the visual world of painting, photography and graphic art to explore the ideology of images.

Susan Sontag said that a photograph is not just an image it is an interpretation of what is real. I agree with this, but I also believe that images don’t always have to be an exact interpretation. Photography has come a long way even since 1977 and there are so many different genres, some things are realistic and some things aren’t.

Both Sontag and Berger looked at different aspects when it came to the contexts of images. They were very critical of ideas and assumptions in photographs.
Berger and Sontag show the ideologies that are present in subjects of photographs and in the task of photographing itself.

“We only see what we look a, to see is an act of choice.”
I very much agree with this; one can look at an image and see only certain elements because their mind is telling them that is all they can see, yet someone else can see the whole picture and see more meanings.

Ideology is a collection of beliefs held by individuals, groups or societies, It is described as a set of conscious and unconscious ideas which make up the beliefs goals and expectations. It is a comprehensive normative vision that is followed by people that considered it the correct way.
It is also a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of society.

John Berger had ideas – ways of seeing.
a relationship between seeing and knowing
Impact of camera and image reproduction on our way of seeing
portrayal of women
image world created through advertising.

Berger explored ideologies of gender in paintings and related it to the contemporary depictions of women in advertising. He argued that the presence of a woman is different to that of a man.
The men’s presence is dependant upon power. A mans presence suggests what he is capable of doing to you or for you.

The idea of the gendered image shows man and woman in two very different lights:

A woman expresses her own attitude to herself and defines what can and cannot be done to her. She can sometimes be seen in revealing clothing and show more skin – because this is what wants to be seen, but it makes them look more vulnerable sometimes.

A man tends to be shown in a suit, looking very empowered and dominant – because this is what a lot of people believe in. It’s stereotypical to believe that a man is more powerful.

Men want to be seen and women want to be looked at.

Lecture 6 : Social Documentary summary notes

Social documentary and street photography 

The politics of pictures

Susan Sontag – vital critique. In ways, I do agree with Susan Sontag, I do think that it is important when undertaking a project that you know your subject/ point of interest, but I don’t believe that you have to know everything. Leaving some things a mystery can help you get good shots too.

Victorian survey – the camera is a tool of truth, authenticity. Philanthropic interest in the poor. 

John Thompson. “street life in london.”

Jacob Riis, explored the poor. “How the other half lives.” Used flash powder and left subjects very stunned. Wanted the actuality, not staged images.

Documentary photography was thought of having a goal, was social change, people and circumstances.

Lewis Hine, “I wanted to show the things that should be changed, I wanted to show the things that should be appreciated.” Wanted to change child labor laws. Pretended to be a fire officer to get into the mill. Documentary is about telling how it is and he was criticised for not making it very exciting. 

Political motivation, evidence. His images contributed an understanding to others.

Dorothea Lange – documentary photographer “migrant mother” 

This image is proof that you only need to know the bare minimum about your sitter. When I work with unknown people, I tend to adopt this method of only finding out the essential as I prefer not to have too much contact with the sitter. I do not feel that having any kind of emotional attachment with them would benefit my work in anyway.

Roy Stryker dubbed Lange’s photo the symbol for the whole project of the ra/fsa. 

Arthur Rothstein. “Fleeing a dust storm” 1936

Was meant to highlight the fact there was a drought. He recreated the circumstances of a dust storm. Was informative. 

The idea that the more transformed or ‘aestheticised’ an image is the less authentic it it is. Davis Levi Strauss discusses this. 

Walker Evans – Alabama tenant farmers wife, 1936.

British social documentary of the 1930’s 

Humphrey Spender “mass observation.” Bolton and Blackpool. 

Boltonworktown.co.uk – source. 

Had to be an invisible spy, felt like he was exploiting them. 

Bill Brandt, the english at home. 1936. Depicts a different type of Britain to what we usually see in documentary. He photographed the wealthy. 

Robert Franks ‘The Americans’ 1958/59

“I was tired of romantisim, I wanted to present what I saw. Pure and simple.”

This quote by Frank is very relatable to me, as I am not a photographer who likes to ‘mess’ with things and show people the best in everything. I like to keep things natural and honest

William Klein, the social landscape: American photography in the 50’s and 60’s. He showed what people didn’t want to see – reacting against the romantic idea of New York. 

Life is good and good for you in New York

William Kleins idea of also showing what people didn’t want to see was very striking to me, and very brave. But I respect his honestly, there is more to the world that meets the eye and just showing the good when there are also bad things that need to be known, can be so misleading.

Garry Winogrand “I photograph to find out what the world looks like photographed.” 

 Diane Arbus, boy with toy hand grenade, 1962

Colin wood was boy photographed. “She catches me in a moment of exasperation.”