Research point – documentrary photography (P.27)

Do you need to be an insider in order to produce a successful documentary project? In her essay Inside/Out, Abigail Solomon-Godeau examines the different types of documentary photography by looking at the writings of Martha Rosler and Susan Sontag and the work of American photographers Diane Arbus, Nan Godin, Larry Clark and Robert Frank. Looking first at the views of Sontag and Rosler, Solomon-Godeau writes: Thus where Rosler sees the issue of photographic voyerism and objectification as a synecdoche of a larger political/cultural totality, Sontag tends to locate the problem in photography itself. Nevertheless, and despite the important difference between … Continue reading Research point – documentrary photography (P.27)

Research point – war photography (P.27)

Do you think images of war are necessary to provoke change? Do you agree withSontag’s earlier view that horrific images of war numb viewers’ responses? I do not think that war images by themselves bring about change, however, I think they can play a role in influencing individuals/society by showing the impact of conflict on combatants, and particularly non-combatants, which can in turn can encourage a quest for greater knowledge and understanding of why wars are being fought and questioning their legitimacy. The argument that Sontag makes in On Photography is basically that familiary breeds contemp, that repeated exposure to … Continue reading Research point – war photography (P.27)