This may be a long shot, but we discussed Ode on a Grecian Urn in English recently and it somewhat relates to the point Nachteway makes about how photography reveals the truth to the general public. In Keat's poem, he discusses how although people may die and be forgotten about, an image lasts forever. Its passion and its ability to provoke thought will be immortal and can never be taken away. This relates to the images Nachteway used in his presentation. Although Nachteway spoke about each picture when it appeared on screen, he almost never gave his own opinion on it, merely a description of what was going on.
This can be seen in Keat's poem, as he describes the people on the urn, and the people who might have used the urn, but he never concludes anything about them, His last two lines "Beauty is truth, truth beauty--that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know". This conclusion leaves interpretation up to the reader. What does the reader consider beauty to be? How can that be related to truth? In relation to Nachteway's photographs, he provides almost the same conclusion as Keats. He says that photography provides people with the truth about what is going on, but lets them decide their own interpretation of why he took the picture.
Photography or imagery is an interesting outlet for art and interpretation. It is a constant form, one that cannot be altered, one that is always true. Nachteway and Keats draw this conclusion from their own experience and let the viewer decide about what they have provided them with. Although both of them give their description, it is up to the viewer to come up with their own thousand words on something. The possibilities for interpretation in photography are almost endless and both of these men do a good job exposing that point.
8 comments:
Overall i think this is a really interesting post, but i have to disagree with you on one point. You say that photography is always true, but that isn't always necessarily the case, especially now. it was much easier to trust the images taken through a lens before Photoshop came into existence; so far there haven't been any major photo cover-ups discovered relating to war, but i'm not sure i would be surprised if it did happen.
Good post. I like how you relate Keats to the photography we saw in class. However, while I think some photography is open-ended, I would say that Mr. Nachteway's photography is the opposite. In his monotone speech, he talked about why he became a photographer. He mentions that in a world that has all this corruption, war, and death, he wanted a profession that allowed him to expose some of the terrible nature of war. For this reason, I would say he wants the audience to see think the way he does.
Well said Will. Often times pictures do say more than can be expressed in words. This can be even more evident in relation to war, as Nachteway's photography suggests. For example, the famous picture of the Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima. That picture was shown to Americans and gave them hope and signified victory. It did so despite the fact that the Battle of Iwo Jima was not won for several weeks after the flag had been raised. That didn't matter, all people saw was Americans raising their flag and gave a country hope and inspiration.
Pictures can often times tell a story that words simply cannot. The war pictures we saw in the presentation in class creates a real world perception of the impacts and dangers of war. When I saw these pictures, I could see the pain and suffering of people. Pictures can evoke feelings and emotions from people that are much stronger than just words on paper. Pictures recreate the horrors and tragedies of war and can never be forgotten. Pictures are powerful and show the stories that can never be told.
Every single time I want to say something, Tess already hit on it (I'm just 2.5 weeks late). But especially in this time, photography is often and easily edited. It also leaves interpretation up to the viewer. Every person sees a different thing in a picture, and that is what I think is the essential beauty of photography. Nachtway's photos let the audience decide for themselves what to think, so I think that is why he only told the story of the photos and not his opinions.
I agree with Michael when he says that Nachteway wants to expose the horrors of war and that to him, photography is more of a medium of communication than an art form.
Also, a picture is not always truth. Yes - what is happening at that moment in the picture is true, but only true of THAT MOMENT. A biased message could be sent just as easily through a picture as through an article.
I think pictures are worth 1000 words sure, (cliche) but they can certainly be altered. One word, photoshop. For example, in that famous picture where Bush is reading to children and some jerk photoshopped the book upsidedown. As if he was reading to kids, but I digress. Point being, photos can tell lies too.
Good post Will, I liked how you said that Nachteway never said what he thought about a certain picture, only describing each one. There is a great saying, ' A picture is worth 1,000 words.' People can control how history is remembered, but with a photograph the truth will always stand out, and no one can change that for the better or the worst.
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