Post 5. Reading Images

             Errol Morris’ “Case of the Inappropriate Alarm Clock” covered some familiar topics for me, as I took 1930’s American art last semester. Many of the issues stem from the debate over whether photographs should be viewed as documentary images versus posed images. One thing that became clear in that class is that although the photos might have been staged, they have over time become accepted as documentary evidence of a time.

            I think this raises an issue for historians: how important the origin and veracity of an image is, especially of a medium such as photography which has so often been viewed as more truthful and immediate than painting or engraving. When searching for an image, it’s not enough to find one that fits your theme. It’s important to know the context of how the image was produced. What did the author of the image want to convey? Who was the intended audience? Does its original meaning match how you want to use it?

            Another level is added to this when it comes to the concept of editing images. Is it more appropriate to use a worn and weathered image, or to show the image as close as possible to how it originally appeared? Before this class it never occurred to me to clean up and restore an image to approximate its original appearance rather than to show the aged version. I guess I always somehow assumed that showing the wear and tear somehow conveyed a sense of authenticity, more so than a polished image, which I must not be alone in, as Cameron Moll has developed techniques specifically for achieving the imitation of wear.

            I think what I’m still unsure of is the obligation of the historian. Should an image be presented as it appears currently, or should an image be presented in the most restored quality?

Comments

[jcassara]

Beka, nice post. Morris' writing also made me reflect on the nature of photography. One, historians should not haphazardly choose their images, they should be just as rigorous in selecting/analyzing their photographs as they are with written sources. Two, I feel like historians have an obligation to keep their restorations to a minimum. The work we did a few weeks ago in class was probably about as far as I'm comfortable going. It's great to make a picture look better for your audience, but at what point are we fundamentally changing the nature of a picture?

[Alan Brody]

Beka:

I quoted your last question in my blog as it so concisely states the argument, the answer of course is "YES", the pictures needs to be fit for purpose? Imagine similar yet different scenarios are you talking about a 19th century photo as it has decayed or has it might have once appeared? Does this binary have to exist or can it be a restored image with a link to an original? Don't museums attribute works to schools or artists by using the term "after"? I think that we can and should free ourselves from arbitrary boundaries, after all, isn't the fact that you selected an image a form of editing, regardless of any post choice manipulation? You raise great questions...

[Rwany Sibaja]

I am with Alan. The ability to present both images, the original and the restored, is important for historians. I would also add that some caption, footnote, or disclaimer should accompany any restored version--where the historians explains WHY they chose to restore or touch up an image. It would be very helpful to understand which choices were made during restoration, for what purposes, and to what end?

Morris always seems to do a good job in raising points we don't often consider, and his talent as an interviewer is probably not credited enough. In the end, though, it seems that the larger issue he wants to raise is maybe not that important. In fact, your point is much more crucial: why do we accept certain sources as more authentic than others, when all primary materials are "selective" "cropped" "edited" or "manipulated" to some degree?

[Laszlo]

I like your post. On the obligation of historians, if you're talking about digital photography on the internet, maybe there isn't a general consensus among professional historians yet. Professor Petrik and other historians involved in new media I'm sure have strong opinions, but maybe those opinions haven't filtered into the wider community.

[Beka]

Thanks for the feedback - I really like the idea of a disclaimer explaining what was altered and why (which may serve as a good chance for historians to ask themselves why they are retouching in the first place)

I think for me the problem is I tend to think of image as artifact, and that the condition of an artifact shouldn't be altered just to make it more aesthetically pleasing. For example, I've been to Pompeii. The murals there are faded, worn, and none are complete. Yet, even with the weathered murals, I felt I got a sense of the former conditions of the villas. In fact, I think it would seem odd and inappropriate if they were completely painted over by modern hands just for the sake of approximating the original condition.

On the other hand...I have been to the Sistine Chapel, which has been heavily restored - and is better off for it. I think what helps is that the restorations for the frescoes have all been heavily documented, so I know it was done with the best intention of restoring it to it's original condition. And the results are quite spectacular.

So, I guess restoration of historical images can go either way as well, and needs to be approached on a case by case basis, and of course, always done with care.

[GIJustin]

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