Final Paper

For my paper I plan to explore abstraction in photography.  I am interested in how abstraction in contemporary photography performs visually and progressively to further establish the medium as art.   I plan to examine the point of the work and how it functions as artwork to hopefully better understand why is this type of work being made, how abstract photography functions similarly or differently then Frieds ideas, and how it functions as a art form.

Adam Fuss

Picturing Violence

Reinhardt discusses the problems and different ways in which aesthetics function and are seen in pictures that depict the subject in pain, suffering or in war.  Reinhardt begins with talking about the war in Iraq and how many situations are not shown in the media do to the political repercussions that these would cause.  This decision just shows the sheer power that a photographer or photograph can hold.  Reinhardt then transitions into the discussion of the pictures which came out of Abu Ghraib of war prisoners being tortured and humiliated.  These photos were the main source of humiliation for the prisoners though the acts alone were awful, inhumane, and extremely humiliating the fact that pictures were taken and then threatened to be sent sustains this humiliation for the length of the existence of the pictures themselves.  One way in which it is seen that these pictures are very powerful is the fact that pictures were not released when a Freedom of Information Act suite was filled to view them because they claimed it would cause further public humiliation.  Reinhardt states that this shows that it is recognized that photographic representation can undermine the dignity of those pictured.  In turn Reinhardt discusses how these pictures can also be used for the benefit of the victim.  

Ali Shalal Qassi claimed to be the man pictured in one of the photographs that Reinhardt discusses and used this to his advantage to help promote his torture advocacy group and start somewhat of a career for himself.  It was later discovered that though Qassi had been humiliated at Abu Ghraib he was not the man pictured and just used this to his advantage.  This transformation of something meant to be used one way into being seen another way by a photograph is very similar to what was discussed about Captain John Walkers Slave Stealer brand on his hand which was photographed and used in the averse way it was meant to.

Next Reinhardt gets more into the discussion of aesthetics in these type of photographs.  He talks about James Natchweys photographs from Sudan.  Though these pictures are composed well and are very well made pictures Natchwey claims these were not meant to be aesthetic because he wanted to keep the downfall of aesthetics out of the way.  The downfall is to be viewing the pictures aesthetically rather then looking at these photos as something that needs to be prevented or helping us further see the problem.  Reinhardt discusses the failures within Natchweys pictures do to the fact that we see these people more as outcasts and this is all we will see them as due to the portrayal by Natchwey.

Reinhardt then discusses someone he felt achieved the balance of aesthetics within these types of images and that is Alfredo Jarr and his work called The Eyes of Gutete Emerita.  Reinhardt believes these images are successful for a couple reasons.  One being how the work is displayed the text for the images are timed longer than needed and the image itself is only a short flash.  The image itself does not directly show suffering but you can see this in the eyes of the subject. 

Photography and Ethics

In Susan Sontags Regarding the Pain of Others she has changed her view from what she though previously, which was the idea that viewers of the news have been bombarded with images of war and devastation so much that we are now unaffected by the shock that these type of images are supposed to send us.  Sontag now believes that it isnt the fact that we are immune to these images but we often times do know what to do or how to help.  Sontag claims that "In a modern life- a life in which there is a superfluity of things to which we are invited to pay attention- it seems normal to turn away from images that simply make us feel bad." and this does not mean that people are responding less nor does it take away the ethical validity of these images.  These images are for us to question who is causing this to happen and is it excusable.  They are a reminder of what the human race is capable of doing.  Sontag then goes into talking about how no matter what these pictures were meant to be or represent if they end up in a gallery setting they merely become art.

I think this transformation that photography (which is supposedly documenting the truth) can do to a image is quite compelling.  One thing that I found to be extremely interesting in the essay by Ariella Azoulay was the story about Captain Jonathan Walker who was caught trying to smuggle slaves and his punishment for this was he would be branded with SS on his hand.  These two letters stood for "Slave Stealer" and would be meant to disgrace him.  Walker then went to a photography studio to photography this branding and the resulting photographs were then distributed to protest this branding.  The meaning of the SS was then transformed from a negative connotation to a more positive meaning of "Slave Savior".  This image, one of the first used for a political agenda completely transformed something that was meant to be a disgrace to a symbol of abolition.