Tuesday, 8 October 2013

How do we read a photography?

The Photograph - Graham Clarke - Chapter 2


"A photography is a series of complex readings which relate as much to the expectations and assumptions that we bring to the image as to the photographic subject itself."

This is a quote from the Graham Clarke book. He pointed out that photograph is not only what we can see but also it brings a lot of more interpretations. We as a person looking at the photographs should read this as a text.
We can divide interpretation of photography into punctum and studium. Punctum presents emotions, it is something which hold the reader. When we are looking at photograph we have to answer the questions like what is happening? or how this imagine works?.

Matthew Brady "Standing by tree" 1865

The photograph was created in 1865 during the American Civil War. Civil War fought from 1861 to 1865. The main issue of the war was slavery. President Abraham Lincoln was opposite slavery. M. Brady supported President Lincoln and wanted to show how   Mathew Brady is best know of his portraits and documentation of American Civil War. He is called the father of photography. 
The photography can be call the self portrait because on the right side we can see M. Brady. At the same time Brady made an attension of  him. However the most important person is General Potter who is not wearing the hut. The picture was taken somewhere in the woods. It could be an army base they are discussing the strategy against the enemy. It is more like a painting than photograph, because every person is posing. 

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