A Just Image
What do images mean to us?
What do images mean to us?
What does it mean to "take" a picture?
What does it mean to "capture" an image?
The word capture means
"to gain possession or control of," and
"to succeed in preserving in lasting form."
It seems that we accept both meanings, using photographs
of things and people to take possession of and keep for ourselves
a part of them that will never change. But how do we choose
which image to take possession of? How do images "speak" to
us? In his book Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes describes sifting
through hundreds of photographs of his recently deceased mother,
searching for one in particular that captured her essence: "But my
grief wanted a just image, an image which would be both justice and
accuracy- justesse: just an image, but a just image."
What does it mean to "capture" an image?
The word capture means
"to gain possession or control of," and
"to succeed in preserving in lasting form."
It seems that we accept both meanings, using photographs
of things and people to take possession of and keep for ourselves
a part of them that will never change. But how do we choose
which image to take possession of? How do images "speak" to
us? In his book Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes describes sifting
through hundreds of photographs of his recently deceased mother,
searching for one in particular that captured her essence: "But my
grief wanted a just image, an image which would be both justice and
accuracy- justesse: just an image, but a just image."
When offered the opportunity to display my work,
I was also offered a challenge. That challenge
was to do more than put my photographs on display
for others to view. It was to tap into the emotions
that the photographs and accompanying text evoked
and produce something greater.
So, I gave everyone a chance
to tell their own story.
And they did.
I was also offered a challenge. That challenge
was to do more than put my photographs on display
for others to view. It was to tap into the emotions
that the photographs and accompanying text evoked
and produce something greater.
So, I gave everyone a chance
to tell their own story.
And they did.
