Narrative

During Wednesdays’ lesson, we discussed the importance of a narrative. According to Merriam Webster a narrative is “having the form of a story”. We were asked to choose an image and create one narrative without looking at the context of it.

One of the narratives I thought of for this photo would be that the person in the position of the photographer is the main character. Meaning that it’s from the main characters point of view. I’m starting to think that this is a story about the main character. Let’s say he was with them since they are looking at him maybe he is leading them to somewhere. Being it’s in black and white could be during the war and they are emigrating. It doesn’t matter if it’s cold outside if it is not a safe place to live in. It also makes me think that at least one of these people survived and is now telling his story which turned into this image.

The context of the image is ‘Mothers and children after selection for the gas chamber’’. Now that I have a better idea of the time and place the narrative easily changes. The main character now turned into a guard and he s not the main character anymore because this is not about him. Now I feel it is more focused on the people in the image and makes me wonder about them more. Did they know what they were going into? How are they feeling? And like that, a new narrative is created.

(Mothers and children after selection for the gas chamber, n.d.)

Painting or Photography?

In a previous blog I mentioned how a photograph is more believable than a painting, but I’d like to go more into detail on their artistic side. My question is which one is better and more appreciated in the expressive world?

For me, it is a difficult question since I work on both mediums. Growing up I was always expressing myself in pencils and watercolour and as I got older, I found an interest in photography. I’ve always thought that painting and sketching needed more practice and that it’s more of a talent than anything else. Now that I’ve started my studies in photography, I’ve changed my view on it. Not everyone is good at drawing but also not everyone has an eye for photography.

I stumbled on a blog that said “[t]he difference most often cited is that painters start with a blank canvas while photographers have to work with what they find” (gallerymoab.com, 2017). Just because photographers don’t have a blank canvas, doesn’t mean that they can’t still express themselves how they want. That is why I am now starting to appreciate photography more because you can express yourself with what you find and still turn it into something great.

In 2012 an art historian, Andrew Graham-Dixon went to a photography exhibition and had some very strong opinions about it. Graham-Dixon thinks that photography isn’t as strong as paintings and that it “lacks the depth and heft, the thinking sense of touch, that painting possesses.” Maybe I’ve grown too strong on the subject but I don’t agree with him. I can easily say I have seen photographs that have left me in shock or in wonders.

In conclusion, I think that there are powerful images that can contain such power. Whether it’s an artistic and self-expressive photograph or a photograph of a time in history. Both paintings and photographs have their way of being communicated to their audience to leave an impact.

The Burning Monk (Browne,1963)