To me, activism through photography is a way of showing people what life is like for others. Not everyone is so fortunate and those that live a higher status don't always notice the troubles that others go through when passing through life. With photography, we can show people the struggles and hardships that others may face and bring light to different problems in the world.
One of the artists I read about that inspired me was John Thomson. I was inspired by Thomson because he didn't use special techniques to add layers or try to give the photo a certain feel. His pictures purely showed the subject in a crisp, clear, and unedited way. His photos didn't try to hide behind specific lighting either. In one of his photos called The Crawlers, the subject is clearly shown and in the photograph, you can the subject's worn out and distressed clothes, the exhaustion in her face, and the baby in her arms. Thomson's work showed people the true lives of those living in poverty, and educated others what the lives of the poor are like.
I think John Thomson was successful in creating change because he never tried to sugarcoat anything. His pictures are not influenced by lighting or special techniques that try to add to the picture. In his pictures, the people are the subjects and the main focuses. When people see his pictures the point is clear and there is no doubt that he is trying to evoke emotion from his audience by focusing on human faces.
I chose this artist because I loved how the pictures always show the subject's face. The human face shows emotion and I fully believe that when you can see somebody's face it is harder to be mad at them or pass them by, especially is you can see the eyes. I also really like how there were no extra layers on the photograph which made it purer. It is always really amazing when a photographer can create something so stunning without editing or special lights.
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| John Thomson, Self Portrait with Honan Soldiers, 1869, https://www.all-about-photo.com/photographers/photographer/170/john-thomson These are the three images that I took for Image Assignment 1: Photographing what I love. I love Squirrels. |
I really like your definition on activism within photography. I think you give a really good example of how photography can be used to further social progress. I also think you did a really great job explaining what about John Thomson's work inspired you. From your post, I learned that Thomson believed in keeping a photograph objective, which was very different from other photographers in that time period who had very differing opinions and thought that a photograph should be as subjective as the opinions of the person taking it (Photography as Activism, Borge, 2012). Your post inspired me to look at some of Thomson's other work and I can see why you chose this artist, as his work is very powerful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting choice of photographer. Can you talk about the specific change your artist created? I am reminded of our in class discussion of the risks involved with an "outsider" depicting a culture and the unintended consequences he/she might have by doing so. Were you able to find any information out about this topic in relation to your artist? I know that is outside the scope of the questions asked, but I think it would be very interesting! Here is a video you might like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8swqEugzpw
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