Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Photojournalism is often thought to have a special relationship to the real. It records the
important political and social issues that affect our world, and because of its assumed im-
. The bibliography about the highly mediacy to the palpable “facts,” we tend to believe that it is reliable and, hence, authentic.
orchestrated nature of the Gulf War as
spectacle is extensive; on its implications for
The legendary advice of photojournalist Robert Capa substantiates this assumption: “If your
photography, see David Campany, “Safety pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” In this statement, Capa implied that
in Numbness: Some Remarks on the
Problem of ‘Late Photography,’” Where is the
photojournalism’s reportorial powers derive largely from the physical and emotional proximity
Photograph?, ed. David Green (Manchester: of the photographers to their subjects and their ability, thereby, to witness events firsthand.
Photoworks / PhotoForum, ), pp.
–; Ian Walker, “Desert Stories or Faith in
Due, however, to the recent influx of such technologies as television, video, and
Facts?” The Photographic Image in digital media, contemporary photojournalism seems to have lost much of its witnessing
Digital Culture, ed. Martin Lister (London
and New York: Routledge, ), pp. –;
authority. A number of scholars have attributed this shift in photojournalism’s identity to
John Taylor, Body Horror (New York: the Gulf War of 1991. Because most of the images from this war were taken by digital
New York University Press, ); William J.
Mitchell, The Reconfigured Eye: Visual
imaging systems and then dispersed through military spokespeople, often via television,
Truth in the Post-Photographic Era many argue that photojournalism relinquished the traditional position of witness that it
(Cambridge: MIT Press, ); and Fred
Ritchin, “The End of Photography as
had previously served, especially during Vietnam.1 Photography historian David Campany
We Have Known It,” PhotoVideo: Photography explained: “Today it is very rare that photographs actually break the news. The newspaper
in the Age of the Computer, ed. Paul Wombell
(London: Rivers Oram Press, ), pp. –.
constitutes only a second wave of interpreted information or commentary.”2
BEAUTIFUL SUFFERING 57
. number of contemporary photographers have responded to this situation by
A ism, these critics—as well as Delahaye—assume that photojournalism and art involve, as
forgoing traditional photojournalism’s reliance on the lightweight, 35mm or digital hand- . Carol Squiers, quoted in Nancy Squiers elucidated, “Different preoccupations and different freedoms.”7 Since photojournal-
Princenthal, “Forty Ways of Looking at a
held camera with its ostensible ability to freeze events quickly. Instead, they have turned Stranger,” Art in America (December
ism remains bound to newspaper or magazine pages, its photographers necessarily and
to medium- or large-format cameras, the larger frames and cumbersome sizes of which ): . automatically “capture” the real without any self-reflexivity or critical detachment. Artists, on
require a slower process and produce more detailed images of what comes “after.”3 The . In “Desert Stories or Faith in Facts?” the other hand, due to the self-sufficiency and distance of their images from the real, can
(p. ), Ian Walker used the term “post-
large-scale, panoramic photographs entitled History that former Magnum and Newsweek reportage” to define this shift in photography:
think about the nature of representation and its depiction of reality in a more oblique and,
photographer Luc Delahaye began in 2001 seem consistent with this tendency (PLATE 4 ). “I use that term ‘post-reportage’ to hence, contemplative manner. Delahaye explained this in relation to History: “To voice the
suggest not what photography cannot do,
This series depicts such newsworthy subject matter as the war zones in Afghanistan and but what it can: document what comes
real and at the same time to create an image that is a world in itself, with its own coherence,
Iraq, the G8 summit in Genoa, and a memorial service at Ground Zero, to name just a few. after, what has been left when the war is over.” . Luc Delahaye, quoted in Susan its autonomy and sovereignty; an image that thinks.”8 In other words, whereas photojournal-
David Campany, “Survey,” Art and Bright, Art Photography Now (New York:
Yet, rather than photograph these subjects spontaneously, as he had done in numerous Photography (London and New Aperture, ), p. .
ism must adhere to the “immediacy” and “instantaneity” of the “facts,” the “slowness” and
images taken while on assignment for Newsweek (PLATE 3 ), Delahaye instead depicted them York: Phaidon, ), p. , reiterated this “detachment” of art allow it to function, as David Campany further explained, “Both as and
observation: “Whatever its indexical
from the distant and oblique perspective assumed as intrinsic to his medium-format Linhof primary, photography is now a secondary
. Campany, “Survey,” p. . of a trace.”9 Such distinctions, however, imply that these systems of image making and the
Technorama 612 panoramic camera. medium of evidence.... This is the types of responses that they elicit are both steadfast and resolute. Photography’s ability to
source of the eclipse of the realist reportage
A number of critics have read this shift in Delahaye’s production as a direct con- of ‘events’ and the emergence of a
bear witness cannot be reduced to either a “trace” of the real or even a “trace of a trace”
frontation of traditional photojournalism and, more particularly, its voyeuristic tendencies. photography of the trace or ‘aftermath.’” of the real. Instead, the evidentiary and testimonial authority of the medium depends on
Photography
. curator Carol Squiers, for instance, argued that the “slowness” and “detach- complex habits of observation and a set of assumptions and beliefs that continually shift
ment” of the Linhof panoramic camera enable Delahaye to focus on peripheral information according to the culture and interests of those who use and read them, as well as those
frequently “excised or ignored by the media’s focus on sensational incident.” In so doing, who make them.
Squiers claimed that Delahaye overturns Capa’s insistence on the “immediacy” and “in-
stantaneity” of photojournalism and the sensationalism that she believes is implicit to this EVIDENCE
approach: “By implementing this reversal, Delahaye alters his relationship to the human Having worked extensively as a Magnum and Newsweek photographer, Luc Delahaye has
subjects caught in newsworthy events, often refusing to spectacularize the pain written had firsthand experience with the loss of meaning that occurs when photographs are repro-
on the faces and bodies of the strangers he photographs.”4 Likewise, art historian Michael . Carol Squiers, “The Stranger,” Strangers: duced in the print media. For a project on post-Communist Russia, for instance, he spent
The First ICP Triennial of Photography
Fried maintained that the “distance” and “withdrawal” that Delahaye adopted in relation and Video (New York: International Center of
four months during the winter of 1998–99 riding with a translator on the Trans-Siberian
to his series History cause viewers to become “aware that a basic protocol of these images Photography and Göttingen: Steidl, railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok. Along the way he stopped to photograph the daily
), p. .
rules out precisely the sort of feats of capture—of fast-moving events, extreme gestures and . “The Faces of Russia’s Agony,” Newsweek, hardships of the Russian people whom he encountered and the equally stark and dreary
December , , pp. –.
emotions, vivid momentary juxtapositions of persons and things, etc.—that one associates landscapes of a nation struggling to survive economic crisis. In 1999, four photographs from
with photojournalism at its bravura best.”5 . Michael Fried, “World Mergers,” Artforum . Timothy Shenk, “Letters,” Newsweek, this trip were published in Newsweek with the headline “The Faces of Russia’s Agony” and
, no. (March ): . January , , Atlantic Edition,
Delahaye has also contributed to this reading of History as an implicit challenge to Lexis-Nexis http:web.lexisnexis.com/universe/
a text describing the “grit and grim fatalism” with which Russians “scrape by.”10 Through this
photojournalism. According to Delahaye, he prefers the Linhof panoramic camera because form/academic/s_guidednews.html format, Newsweek editors used Delahaye’s pictures to illustrate Russia’s bleak and damaged
of the explicit distinction that it makes between art and photojournalism and the responses . Grigory Ioffe, “Letters,” Newsweek, January
existence, as the letter of one reader attested: “Your dark and moving photographs convey
required of them. In particular, Delahaye believes that the monumental and highly detailed , , Atlantic Edition, Lexis-Nexis http: far more despair than words ever could.”11
web.lexisnexis.com/universe/ form/academic/
images produced by the Linhof panoramic camera counter the diminution of meaning that s_guidednews.
Not all Newsweek readers, however, appreciated the anguish depicted in Delahaye’s
occurs in photojournalism, especially when its images are reproduced in the print media. photographs. The letter of another reader, for instance, criticized the images for focusing
. Mary Ellen Mark addressed the
Because of the smaller frame of photojournalism’s 35mm or digital handheld cameras, which relationship between her personal and
exclusively on the squalor and suffering of Russia and its people: “Yes, there are many
have a 3:2 aspect ratio, Delahaye maintains that these prints promote rapid scanning when commercial work: “I am always harsh realities, but there is also a beauty about Siberia, Novosibirsk, and the Russian
thinking of the different ways that I can
reproduced in the chaotic context of newspaper or magazine pages. The generous propor- finance my own work. Because without
people that was not fairly credited. I urge you to take a deeper look.”12 What this reader
tions and 1:2 aspect ratio of the Linhof frame, on the other hand, encourage a more detached personal projects, what’s the point? The self- did not realize (since Newsweek editors neglected to disclose it) was that Delahaye’s four
assigned project is your heart and soul....
relationship to the subject matter—one that is necessarily, as Delahaye explained, “incompat- The ideal situation is when a magazine
photographs actually represented only a small portion of a larger, more extensive project on
ible with the economy of the press”—especially when, as in History, they are enlarged into assignment overlaps with your body of Russian life. Like many of his predecessors and contemporaries—including Mary Ellen Mark,
personal work.” “Mary Ellen Mark:
eight-by-four foot prints and placed within the context of an art museum or gallery.6 . Luc Delahaye, quoted in Bill Sullivan,
Streetwise Photographer,” Witness in our
James Nachtwey, and Sebastião Salgado—Delahaye frequently used his photojournalistic
“The Real Thing: Photographer Luc
In making these distinctions about History and its relationship to photojournal- Delahaye,” Artnet Magazine (April , )
Time: Working Lives of Documentary assignments as the basis of larger, more personal projects.13 Thus, the same photographs
Photographers, ed. Ken Light
www.artnet.com/magazine/features/sullivan/
(Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution
Press, ), p. .
approach: “By implementing this reversal, Delahaye alters his relationship to the human Having worked extensively as a Magnum and Newsweek photographer, Luc Delahaye has
subjects caught in newsworthy events, often refusing to spectacularize the pain written had firsthand experience with the loss of meaning that occurs when photographs are repro-
on the faces and bodies of the strangers he photographs.”4 Likewise, art historian Michael . Carol Squiers, “The Stranger,” Strangers: duced in the print media. For a project on post-Communist Russia, for instance, he spent
The First ICP Triennial of Photography
Fried maintained that the “distance” and “withdrawal” that Delahaye adopted in relation and Video (New York: International Center of
four months during the winter of 1998–99 riding with a translator on the Trans-Siberian
to his series History cause viewers to become “aware that a basic protocol of these images Photography and Göttingen: Steidl, railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok. Along the way he stopped to photograph the daily
), p. .
rules out precisely the sort of feats of capture—of fast-moving events, extreme gestures and . “The Faces of Russia’s Agony,” Newsweek, hardships of the Russian people whom he encountered and the equally stark and dreary
December , , pp. –.
emotions, vivid momentary juxtapositions of persons and things, etc.—that one associates landscapes of a nation struggling to survive economic crisis. In 1999, four photographs from
with photojournalism at its bravura best.”5 . Michael Fried, “World Mergers,” Artforum . Timothy Shenk, “Letters,” Newsweek, this trip were published in Newsweek with the headline “The Faces of Russia’s Agony” and
, no. (March ): . January , , Atlantic Edition,
Delahaye has also contributed to this reading of History as an implicit challenge to Lexis-Nexis http:web.lexisnexis.com/universe/
a text describing the “grit and grim fatalism” with which Russians “scrape by.”10 Through this
photojournalism. According to Delahaye, he prefers the Linhof panoramic camera because form/academic/s_guidednews.html format, Newsweek editors used Delahaye’s pictures to illustrate Russia’s bleak and damaged
of the explicit distinction that it makes between art and photojournalism and the responses . Grigory Ioffe, “Letters,” Newsweek, January
existence, as the letter of one reader attested: “Your dark and moving photographs convey
required of them. In particular, Delahaye believes that the monumental and highly detailed , , Atlantic Edition, Lexis-Nexis http: far more despair than words ever could.”11
web.lexisnexis.com/universe/ form/academic/
images produced by the Linhof panoramic camera counter the diminution of meaning that s_guidednews.
Not all Newsweek readers, however, appreciated the anguish depicted in Delahaye’s
occurs in photojournalism, especially when its images are reproduced in the print media. photographs. The letter of another reader, for instance, criticized the images for focusing
. Mary Ellen Mark addressed the
Because of the smaller frame of photojournalism’s 35mm or digital handheld cameras, which relationship between her personal and
exclusively on the squalor and suffering of Russia and its people: “Yes, there are many
have a 3:2 aspect ratio, Delahaye maintains that these prints promote rapid scanning when commercial work: “I am always harsh realities, but there is also a beauty about Siberia, Novosibirsk, and the Russian
thinking of the different ways that I can
reproduced in the chaotic context of newspaper or magazine pages. The generous propor- finance my own work. Because without
people that was not fairly credited. I urge you to take a deeper look.”12 What this reader
tions and 1:2 aspect ratio of the Linhof frame, on the other hand, encourage a more detached personal projects, what’s the point? The self- did not realize (since Newsweek editors neglected to disclose it) was that Delahaye’s four
assigned project is your heart and soul....
relationship to the subject matter—one that is necessarily, as Delahaye explained, “incompat- The ideal situation is when a magazine
photographs actually represented only a small portion of a larger, more extensive project on
ible with the economy of the press”—especially when, as in History, they are enlarged into assignment overlaps with your body of Russian life. Like many of his predecessors and contemporaries—including Mary Ellen Mark,
personal work.” “Mary Ellen Mark:
eight-by-four foot prints and placed within the context of an art museum or gallery.6 . Luc Delahaye, quoted in Bill Sullivan,
Streetwise Photographer,” Witness in our
James Nachtwey, and Sebastião Salgado—Delahaye frequently used his photojournalistic
“The Real Thing: Photographer Luc
In making these distinctions about History and its relationship to photojournal- Delahaye,” Artnet Magazine (April , )
Time: Working Lives of Documentary assignments as the basis of larger, more personal projects.13 Thus, the same photographs
Photographers, ed. Ken Light
www.artnet.com/magazine/features/sullivan/
(Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution
Press, ), p. .
Refusing to be a slave to technique, she instead embraces the inconsistencies and accidents Like Delahaye, Alfredo Jaar also has expressed dissatisfaction with the circulation of pho-
that occur in the printing process. For Mann, these irregularities and ambiguities in the tography in the print media. Yet, whereas Delahaye dislikes photojournalism because it
surfaces of her prints are formal devices that allow her to heighten the physicality of her compromises photography’s assumed evidentiary authority, Jaar objects to the manner in
photographs and, in so doing, to explore the process through which one remembers the which its distribution promotes passive and disinterested viewers: “I have always felt that
dead. The problem for Boxer was that Mann’s interest in these memorial capacities of the we suffer from a bombardment of images through the media, a bombardment that has
medium compromises the assumed indexical nature of photography. Yet, what Boxer failed . Alfredo Jaar, “Violence: The Limits of completely anesthetized us.”44 Because of this aversion, a number of critics have interpreted
Representation,” an interview in Rubén
to realize is that photography’s evidentiary authority cannot be reduced to its relationship Gallo, Trans Arts, Cultures, Media ¾, ),
Jaar’s work (PLATES 50 and 51) as a direct confrontation of photojournalism. “Implicit in
to the real. Instead, as Eleanor Heartney elucidated in relation to Mann’s photographs, it is p. . his approach,” argued H. Ashley Kistler, “is a critique of ‘concerned’ photography and
determined “as much in memory and imagination as in fact.”39 . Heartney, “The Forensic Eye,” p. . the patented responses to social tragedy that its distancing, voyeuristic stance too fre-
Due to the high level of clarity in Delahaye’s Taliban, this image seems to more . H. Ashley Kistler, “Re-Visions: An quently provokes.”45 Kistler implied here that Jaar intends his work to render explicit the
Introduction to Geography=War,” Alfredo
closely meet Boxer’s expectations for representing the dead in photography. At the same Jaar: Geography=War (Richmond, VA:
moral inadequacies of photojournalism and more particularly the ethically suspect form
time, since every detail of the dead corpse, including his face, is rendered with absolute Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, ), p. . of photojournalism known as “concerned photography.” Madeleine Grynsztejn extended
precision, and since it is doubtful that Delahaye acquired “formal” permission to photo- this argument when she claimed that “Jaar’s works are driven by the desire to expose ‘the
graph him, one could argue that Delahaye should have also been condemned as a “grave misrepresentation’ that ‘lies’ beneath the surface of photographic representations...the most
robber.” Interestingly, this ethical complaint is distinctly absent from the critical responses . Madeleine Grynsztejn, “Illuminating insidious ways in which our dominant western culture has misrepresented the Other is
Exposures: The Art of Alfredo Jaar,”
to Delahaye’s photograph. Instead, as I have already mentioned, critics maintained that the Alfredo Jaar (La Jolla, CA: La Jolla Museum
through ‘concerned photography’.”46
“slowness” and “detachment” provided by his Linhof panoramic camera enabled Delahaye of Contemporary Art, ), p. . In making this argument about Jaar’s practice, both Kistler and Grynsztejn rely on
to impartially record “the reality before him.” But is the objectivity of his Linhof camera . Martha Rosler, “in, around, and
the definition of “concerned photography” posited by Martha Rosler, which identified this
in fact what has absolved Delahaye from discussions about the ethical quandaries of afterthoughts (on documentary practice as “the weakest possible idea of [substitute for] social engagement, namely compas-
photography),” in 3 Works (Nova Scotia:
representing the dead? The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art
sion.”47 Whereas documentary photography had once functioned as a form of social and
In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag argued that “the more remote or and Design, ), p. , n. political critique as well as an oppositional practice, Rosler—along with critics such as Allan
exotic the place, the more likely we are to have full frontal views of the dead and dying.”40 . Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of
. Martha Rosler’s remarks made during
Sekula and Abigail Solomon-Godeau—argued that “concerned photography” has brought
Others (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
Sontag alluded here to a contradiction in recent photographic representations of the dead ), p. . The representation of foreign,
a lecture, “The Look of War Photography,” attention to the sensibility (compassion) of the photographer at the expense of the subjects
at Walker Art Center, November ,
and dying. The print media will, largely out of moral decency and respect for families, dead and dying bodies by the Western press
. Quoted in Adam D. Weinberg, On the
depicted. Such photography, Rosler further argued, “Leans toward the self-congratulatory
is also discussed in John Taylor, “Foreign
obscure the faces of American and European dead. But, as Sontag further explained, “This is Bodies,” Body Horror, pp. –.
Line: The New Color Photojournalism and the cathartic and invites projection and puts the viewer into a voyeuristic position to
(Minneapolis: Walker Art Center and
a dignity not thought necessary to accord to others.”41 Delahaye’s “full-frontal” photographs the University of Pennsylvania Press, ),
the depicted.”48 Rosler ignored here the specific set of historical conditions under which the
. Sontag, Regarding the Pain of
of dead Taliban soldiers, published in November 2001 as part of the Newsweek article, Others, p. .
p. . See also Allan Sekula, “On the practice of “concerned photography” was actually developed and instead uses the term to
Invention of Photographic Meaning,”
“The Fall of the Taliban,” substantiate Sontag’s claim (see FIG. 1). No one has questioned the Artforum , no. (January ): ; and
substantiate the moral corruption of documentary photography through its appropriation
ethics behind the widespread circulation of these images. Instead, along with other images Abigail Solomon-Godeau, “Who is into the tradition of “fine art” photography.
Speaking Thus? Some Questions about
of dead Taliban soldiers distributed concurrently in the print media, they have provided Documentary Photography,” Photography
When Cornell Capa coined the term “concerned photography,” he intended it as
one of the most popular means through which the American public has learned about the at the Dock: Essays on Photographic a way to memorialize his brother Robert Capa and Cornell’s friends and colleagues, David
History, Institutions, and Practices
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, ), p. , n.
Refusing to be a slave to technique, she instead embraces the inconsistencies and accidents Like Delahaye, Alfredo Jaar also has expressed dissatisfaction with the circulation of pho-
that occur in the printing process. For Mann, these irregularities and ambiguities in the tography in the print media. Yet, whereas Delahaye dislikes photojournalism because it
surfaces of her prints are formal devices that allow her to heighten the physicality of her compromises photography’s assumed evidentiary authority, Jaar objects to the manner in
photographs and, in so doing, to explore the process through which one remembers the which its distribution promotes passive and disinterested viewers: “I have always felt that
dead. The problem for Boxer was that Mann’s interest in these memorial capacities of the we suffer from a bombardment of images through the media, a bombardment that has
medium compromises the assumed indexical nature of photography. Yet, what Boxer failed . Alfredo Jaar, “Violence: The Limits of completely anesthetized us.”44 Because of this aversion, a number of critics have interpreted
Representation,” an interview in Rubén
to realize is that photography’s evidentiary authority cannot be reduced to its relationship Gallo, Trans Arts, Cultures, Media ¾, ),
Jaar’s work (PLATES 50 and 51) as a direct confrontation of photojournalism. “Implicit in
to the real. Instead, as Eleanor Heartney elucidated in relation to Mann’s photographs, it is p. . his approach,” argued H. Ashley Kistler, “is a critique of ‘concerned’ photography and
determined “as much in memory and imagination as in fact.”39 . Heartney, “The Forensic Eye,” p. . the patented responses to social tragedy that its distancing, voyeuristic stance too fre-
Due to the high level of clarity in Delahaye’s Taliban, this image seems to more . H. Ashley Kistler, “Re-Visions: An quently provokes.”45 Kistler implied here that Jaar intends his work to render explicit the
Introduction to Geography=War,” Alfredo
closely meet Boxer’s expectations for representing the dead in photography. At the same Jaar: Geography=War (Richmond, VA:
moral inadequacies of photojournalism and more particularly the ethically suspect form
time, since every detail of the dead corpse, including his face, is rendered with absolute Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, ), p. . of photojournalism known as “concerned photography.” Madeleine Grynsztejn extended
precision, and since it is doubtful that Delahaye acquired “formal” permission to photo- this argument when she claimed that “Jaar’s works are driven by the desire to expose ‘the
graph him, one could argue that Delahaye should have also been condemned as a “grave misrepresentation’ that ‘lies’ beneath the surface of photographic representations...the most
robber.” Interestingly, this ethical complaint is distinctly absent from the critical responses . Madeleine Grynsztejn, “Illuminating insidious ways in which our dominant western culture has misrepresented the Other is
Exposures: The Art of Alfredo Jaar,”
to Delahaye’s photograph. Instead, as I have already mentioned, critics maintained that the Alfredo Jaar (La Jolla, CA: La Jolla Museum
through ‘concerned photography’.”46
“slowness” and “detachment” provided by his Linhof panoramic camera enabled Delahaye of Contemporary Art, ), p. . In making this argument about Jaar’s practice, both Kistler and Grynsztejn rely on
to impartially record “the reality before him.” But is the objectivity of his Linhof camera . Martha Rosler, “in, around, and
the definition of “concerned photography” posited by Martha Rosler, which identified this
in fact what has absolved Delahaye from discussions about the ethical quandaries of afterthoughts (on documentary practice as “the weakest possible idea of [substitute for] social engagement, namely compas-
photography),” in 3 Works (Nova Scotia:
representing the dead? The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art
sion.”47 Whereas documentary photography had once functioned as a form of social and
In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag argued that “the more remote or and Design, ), p. , n. political critique as well as an oppositional practice, Rosler—along with critics such as Allan
exotic the place, the more likely we are to have full frontal views of the dead and dying.”40 . Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of
. Martha Rosler’s remarks made during
Sekula and Abigail Solomon-Godeau—argued that “concerned photography” has brought
Others (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
Sontag alluded here to a contradiction in recent photographic representations of the dead ), p. . The representation of foreign,
a lecture, “The Look of War Photography,” attention to the sensibility (compassion) of the photographer at the expense of the subjects
at Walker Art Center, November ,
and dying. The print media will, largely out of moral decency and respect for families, dead and dying bodies by the Western press
. Quoted in Adam D. Weinberg, On the
depicted. Such photography, Rosler further argued, “Leans toward the self-congratulatory
is also discussed in John Taylor, “Foreign
obscure the faces of American and European dead. But, as Sontag further explained, “This is Bodies,” Body Horror, pp. –.
Line: The New Color Photojournalism and the cathartic and invites projection and puts the viewer into a voyeuristic position to
(Minneapolis: Walker Art Center and
a dignity not thought necessary to accord to others.”41 Delahaye’s “full-frontal” photographs the University of Pennsylvania Press, ),
the depicted.”48 Rosler ignored here the specific set of historical conditions under which the
. Sontag, Regarding the Pain of
of dead Taliban soldiers, published in November 2001 as part of the Newsweek article, Others, p. .
p. . See also Allan Sekula, “On the practice of “concerned photography” was actually developed and instead uses the term to
Invention of Photographic Meaning,”
“The Fall of the Taliban,” substantiate Sontag’s claim (see FIG. 1). No one has questioned the Artforum , no. (January ): ; and
substantiate the moral corruption of documentary photography through its appropriation
ethics behind the widespread circulation of these images. Instead, along with other images Abigail Solomon-Godeau, “Who is into the tradition of “fine art” photography.
Speaking Thus? Some Questions about
of dead Taliban soldiers distributed concurrently in the print media, they have provided Documentary Photography,” Photography
When Cornell Capa coined the term “concerned photography,” he intended it as
one of the most popular means through which the American public has learned about the at the Dock: Essays on Photographic a way to memorialize his brother Robert Capa and Cornell’s friends and colleagues, David
History, Institutions, and Practices
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, ), p. , n.
color transparencies in quadvision light boxes mounted next to each other on the wall. At The June 12, 2005, cover of The New York Times Magazine featured an unidentified
the same time, Jaar did not limit the light boxes only to photographs. Prior to the images figure dressed in black (PLATE 53 ). Represented up from the shoulders and positioned in
of Emerita’s eyes, three sets of text transparencies appear in the light boxes for forty-five the center of the composition, the figure shared certain formal parallels with individuals
seconds, thirty seconds, and fifteen seconds, respectively. These texts describe, from the depicted in mug shots. But a mug shot typically uses—to disclose
point of view of Emerita, the brutal killing of her husband and children. After the texts, the an individual’s unique and distinguishing features—even and
photographs of Emerita’s eyes flash in the light boxes for a fraction of a second, after which consistent lighting, a neutral background, and a fixed distance
the sequence of texts begins again. between camera and sitter. In this photograph, however, an
Several critics have interpreted Jaar’s use of texts and images in The Eyes of Gutete angular, green sandbag covering the figure’s head and neck
Emerita as an explicit critique of photojournalism. Photography critic Mark Durden, for in- masks the subject’s identity. Moreover, the dramatic lighting;
stance, argued: “The eyes of Gutete provide a subjectivized counterpart to the objectivity the intense, red-painted background; and the shallow depth of
and distance of media coverage.”70 Durden implied here that looking into the eyes of Emerita . Mark Durden, “Eye-to-Eye,” Art History field lend the figure an ominous and dominating presence. This
, no. (March ): .
necessarily allows viewers to bear witness to the pain and horror of the Rwandan genocide association is reinforced by the four sets of questions, printed in
in ways that the “distanced” and “dehumanizing” images of the print media have prohibited. small, white type, that flank the figure’s head as well as by the
Though Jaar is also concerned about the print media’s lack of coverage of the genocide in headline: “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About
Rwanda, in this installation he was less interested in having viewers “see” or even “feel” Torture,” which runs along the bottom of the page. Containing
Emerita’s pain than in making them aware of their inadequacies as witnesses. The placement such words as intimidation, interrogation, prison, and torture,
of the two light boxes within an enclosed and darkened twenty-by-sixteen foot space reinforces the Times Magazine cover leaves unclear whether one should
this distinction. In order to access the light boxes, viewers must first enter a narrow, dark cor- read the figure as the subject or the object of torture.
ridor. After they walk through this passageway and turn the corner, their sight is momentarily The visual parallels between the angular, green sand-
impaired by the light emanating from the boxes. In placing his images from Rwanda within bag and those depicted in the widely circulated photographs
this space, Jaar physically disrupts their easy or immediate consumption. He heightens this of tortured Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib (PLATE 57) offset this
effect by giving viewers sufficient time to read about Emerita’s painful experiences but then ambiguity and encourage one to read the hooded figure as
allowing them to see only for a fraction of a second the eyes that witnessed this tragedy. This suffering and in pain.74 The article, “Interrogating Ourselves,”
disruption again frustrates viewers and forces them to consider that which they cannot see to which this Times Magazine cover photograph referred and
and by implication that which remains impossible to represent. the two additional, full-page color photographs that accompa-
By using his installation to call attention to the limitations of representation—or its nied this essay corroborate this association.75 Unlike the cover
“failure,” as Jaar claims—he is not suggesting that images have completely lost their power picture, both the article and the images explicitly referenced
or function in today’s society. In fact, Jaar recently said that he “believe[s] images are more tortured subjects. In the essay, for instance, Joseph Lelyveld
necessary than ever.”71 For Jaar, then, the problem lies not with photojournalism or “con- . Jaar, “Alfredo Jaar: A Conversation,” p. . discussed the coercive techniques that Americans have used
cerned photography” per se but with the contexts in which these images are disseminated to interrogate detainees in the war on terror. The photographs
and consumed. This is because, according to Jaar: “Journalistic information and presenta- . Alfredo Jaar, “The Peripatetic FIGURES 8 AND 9 seem to provide graphic visual support for this discussion: the
Artist: Statements,” Art in America . The caption for the cover image in ANDRES SERRANO,
tion actually discourage action. Much of the media overwhelms us with a sense of being (July ): . “Back Story,” The New York Times Magazine, NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE,
first image depicts a close-up of a figure’s arms, which have been
present; we feel we know, and because we think we know, we think we care. But it stops June , , p. , further supports this 12 JUNE 2005 forcefully handcuffed behind his back, while the second depicts
. It is important to note that Jaar is not reading: “The hooded figure has a
there.”72 Jaar implied here that, since we are continually confronted with such a vast number completely opposed to the distribution of his long history as an icon of torture. But
the head of a reclined figure whose face is covered with a wet,
of images in the print media, there is a tendency to pass over them quickly and without work in the print media. For instance, what once indicated the executioner has now white cloth over which water is being poured from a canteen (FIGS. 8 and 9 ).
his public project “How can I make art out of come to symbolize the prisoner.”
much critical awareness. To counter this situation, Jaar believes that it is the responsibility information that most of you would rather
At the same time, the article and its accompanying photographs also contained
of artists who use “the real” in their works to create alternative frameworks for their images, ignore?” was reproduced in Saturday Night . Joseph Lelyveld, “Interrogating certain ambiguities. For instance, rather than offering a clear, moral position regarding the
, no. , (September ): –; Ourselves,” The New York Times Magazine,
ones that encourage viewers to become aware, in an active and inquiring manner, of the and “Rwanda, years later” was published in June , , pp. –, , and –.
use of interrogation procedures, Lelyveld instead raised many perplexing and uncomfort-
nature of representation. But the question remains: Can such an environment—one that Wereldwijd (April ): –. In able questions about our beliefs and assumptions regarding what constitutes torture when
allowing his work to be distributed in these
implicates viewers as critically engaged participants—be produced within the context of the contexts, however, Jaar assumed complete
it is used in the war on terror. The stylistic conventions used to depict the figures in the
print media, the traditional vehicle for distributing and consuming photojournalism?73 control over its layout and design. The extent photographs parallel these uncertainties. The sheer beauty and scrupulous details of the
to which more well-known newspapers
and magazines would be willing to grant such
authority remains in question.
color transparencies in quadvision light boxes mounted next to each other on the wall. At The June 12, 2005, cover of The New York Times Magazine featured an unidentified
the same time, Jaar did not limit the light boxes only to photographs. Prior to the images figure dressed in black (PLATE 53 ). Represented up from the shoulders and positioned in
of Emerita’s eyes, three sets of text transparencies appear in the light boxes for forty-five the center of the composition, the figure shared certain formal parallels with individuals
seconds, thirty seconds, and fifteen seconds, respectively. These texts describe, from the depicted in mug shots. But a mug shot typically uses—to disclose
point of view of Emerita, the brutal killing of her husband and children. After the texts, the an individual’s unique and distinguishing features—even and
photographs of Emerita’s eyes flash in the light boxes for a fraction of a second, after which consistent lighting, a neutral background, and a fixed distance
the sequence of texts begins again. between camera and sitter. In this photograph, however, an
Several critics have interpreted Jaar’s use of texts and images in The Eyes of Gutete angular, green sandbag covering the figure’s head and neck
Emerita as an explicit critique of photojournalism. Photography critic Mark Durden, for in- masks the subject’s identity. Moreover, the dramatic lighting;
stance, argued: “The eyes of Gutete provide a subjectivized counterpart to the objectivity the intense, red-painted background; and the shallow depth of
and distance of media coverage.”70 Durden implied here that looking into the eyes of Emerita . Mark Durden, “Eye-to-Eye,” Art History field lend the figure an ominous and dominating presence. This
, no. (March ): .
necessarily allows viewers to bear witness to the pain and horror of the Rwandan genocide association is reinforced by the four sets of questions, printed in
in ways that the “distanced” and “dehumanizing” images of the print media have prohibited. small, white type, that flank the figure’s head as well as by the
Though Jaar is also concerned about the print media’s lack of coverage of the genocide in headline: “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About
Rwanda, in this installation he was less interested in having viewers “see” or even “feel” Torture,” which runs along the bottom of the page. Containing
Emerita’s pain than in making them aware of their inadequacies as witnesses. The placement such words as intimidation, interrogation, prison, and torture,
of the two light boxes within an enclosed and darkened twenty-by-sixteen foot space reinforces the Times Magazine cover leaves unclear whether one should
this distinction. In order to access the light boxes, viewers must first enter a narrow, dark cor- read the figure as the subject or the object of torture.
ridor. After they walk through this passageway and turn the corner, their sight is momentarily The visual parallels between the angular, green sand-
impaired by the light emanating from the boxes. In placing his images from Rwanda within bag and those depicted in the widely circulated photographs
this space, Jaar physically disrupts their easy or immediate consumption. He heightens this of tortured Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib (PLATE 57) offset this
effect by giving viewers sufficient time to read about Emerita’s painful experiences but then ambiguity and encourage one to read the hooded figure as
allowing them to see only for a fraction of a second the eyes that witnessed this tragedy. This suffering and in pain.74 The article, “Interrogating Ourselves,”
disruption again frustrates viewers and forces them to consider that which they cannot see to which this Times Magazine cover photograph referred and
and by implication that which remains impossible to represent. the two additional, full-page color photographs that accompa-
By using his installation to call attention to the limitations of representation—or its nied this essay corroborate this association.75 Unlike the cover
“failure,” as Jaar claims—he is not suggesting that images have completely lost their power picture, both the article and the images explicitly referenced
or function in today’s society. In fact, Jaar recently said that he “believe[s] images are more tortured subjects. In the essay, for instance, Joseph Lelyveld
necessary than ever.”71 For Jaar, then, the problem lies not with photojournalism or “con- . Jaar, “Alfredo Jaar: A Conversation,” p. . discussed the coercive techniques that Americans have used
cerned photography” per se but with the contexts in which these images are disseminated to interrogate detainees in the war on terror. The photographs
and consumed. This is because, according to Jaar: “Journalistic information and presenta- . Alfredo Jaar, “The Peripatetic FIGURES 8 AND 9 seem to provide graphic visual support for this discussion: the
Artist: Statements,” Art in America . The caption for the cover image in ANDRES SERRANO,
tion actually discourage action. Much of the media overwhelms us with a sense of being (July ): . “Back Story,” The New York Times Magazine, NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE,
first image depicts a close-up of a figure’s arms, which have been
present; we feel we know, and because we think we know, we think we care. But it stops June , , p. , further supports this 12 JUNE 2005 forcefully handcuffed behind his back, while the second depicts
. It is important to note that Jaar is not reading: “The hooded figure has a
there.”72 Jaar implied here that, since we are continually confronted with such a vast number completely opposed to the distribution of his long history as an icon of torture. But
the head of a reclined figure whose face is covered with a wet,
of images in the print media, there is a tendency to pass over them quickly and without work in the print media. For instance, what once indicated the executioner has now white cloth over which water is being poured from a canteen (FIGS. 8 and 9 ).
his public project “How can I make art out of come to symbolize the prisoner.”
much critical awareness. To counter this situation, Jaar believes that it is the responsibility information that most of you would rather
At the same time, the article and its accompanying photographs also contained
of artists who use “the real” in their works to create alternative frameworks for their images, ignore?” was reproduced in Saturday Night . Joseph Lelyveld, “Interrogating certain ambiguities. For instance, rather than offering a clear, moral position regarding the
, no. , (September ): –; Ourselves,” The New York Times Magazine,
ones that encourage viewers to become aware, in an active and inquiring manner, of the and “Rwanda, years later” was published in June , , pp. –, , and –.
use of interrogation procedures, Lelyveld instead raised many perplexing and uncomfort-
nature of representation. But the question remains: Can such an environment—one that Wereldwijd (April ): –. In able questions about our beliefs and assumptions regarding what constitutes torture when
allowing his work to be distributed in these
implicates viewers as critically engaged participants—be produced within the context of the contexts, however, Jaar assumed complete
it is used in the war on terror. The stylistic conventions used to depict the figures in the
print media, the traditional vehicle for distributing and consuming photojournalism?73 control over its layout and design. The extent photographs parallel these uncertainties. The sheer beauty and scrupulous details of the
to which more well-known newspapers
and magazines would be willing to grant such
authority remains in question.
74 DUGANNE