Victor Burgin Robert Golden Ralph Gibson Terry Dennett Manuel Alvarez Bravo

Laurence Misdate 'Circus Travelling* - July Half Moon Exhibition Victor Burgin Robert Golden Ralph Gibson Terry Dennett Manuel Alvarez Bravo No 3 Half Moon Photography Workshop 25p Art, Common Sense and Photography BY VICTOR BURGIN cisely for making such a (mystificatory) actual state of affairs. In photojournalism, a political statement. particular moment may somehow come to The main thrust of photographic criticism A photograph of a baby at the breast of a signify a general truth. This ‘somehow’ is these days is towards the consideration of woman in a private nursing home in Switzer generally considered to be unaccountable photography as Art. CAMERAWORK, on land may be placed alongside a photograph except in terms of such things as ‘luck,’ the other hand, has raised the issue of pho of a similarly-composed mother and child ‘talent’ or a combination of the two. Cer tography as an instrument of ideology. group in a village in rural India. Assuming tainly the photographer of George V was Many people believe that these two appro that there are no obvious signs of depriva lucky, and he may very well have been aches are incompatible. Art is thought to tion on the one hand, or of privilege on the ‘talented’ (whatever that means), but while have nothing to do with politics, 'political’ other, the two images together will pro the picture before us may have depended on art is thought to be irretrievably compromis nounce: “Mothers and their babies are the luck for its existence, it does not depend ed as Art. But the two may not be quite as same everywhere.” Such a smugly reassuring upon luck or ‘talent’ for its meaning — its mutually exclusive as these people like to message was indeed communicated by The meaning is something we can account for. think. Family o f Man exhibition. The caption, the All com m unication takes place on the Work with an obvious ideological slant is title of the exhibition, served mainly to un basis of signs, most predominately on the often condemned as ‘manipulative’; that is derline what had already been said. In this basis of visible and audible signs. To say to say, first, that the photographer manipu case, the text served the photographs. that one person has communicated with lates what comes over in the image; second, Here, an ideological content is produced another is to say that each of them has un that as a result his or her audiences be by a formal device. The message: “The con derstood how to use and interpret the signs liefs about the world are manipulated. Not dition of motherhood is the same all over which made up the message between them. much is known about how the media influ the world,” would not have been conveyed If you speak to me in Greek, 1 have no prob ence opinions, although we can be fairly sure so readily by either of the photographs lem hearing the noises you are making, but if that people aren’t simply led by the nose by alone. Only the juxtaposition of the two I do not ‘know Greek’ in common with you, photographs. Whatever the case, both creates such a content, in such clarity, and then 1 cannot understand what you are charges can be similarly answered; manipul with all the immediacy of an observed natur saying. ation is of the essence of photography; al truth. (The message is ideological not photography would not exist without it. simply because it is wrong in what it says — In photography, certain physical mater Fig. 1 simply to be mistaken is not necessarily to ials are technically handled so that meanings fairly be bought for wages is a mystification be in a state of false-consciousness — it is are produced. Photographers are people which conceals the fact that, as the value of ideological because it misrepresents the who manipulate the physical means of pro a commodity depends on the labour invested actual material condition of the world in the duction of photography; cameras, film, light in it, the owner is appropriating as profit service o f specific vested interests.) ing, objects, people. Using the productive what belongs by right to the labourer: pro Because we have separate words for capabilities of photography to reproduce the fits are unpaid wages. The idea of false ‘form’ and ‘content’, we are easily misled in world as an object of aesthetic contempla consciousness is another important aspect to believing that they stand for totally dis tion, and nothing else, is no less ‘m anipula of the meaning of the term, ‘ideology.’ tinct areas of experience. But there is no tive’ than is any other use of photograph: The politically ‘Left’ photographer wants content without a form, and no form .which to turn away is an act, to turn away from sit to help correct society’s false picture of its does not shape a content. In that they both uations of immediate social relevance is a po actual conditions of existence, to raise such have been misled by a picture of the world litical act, and to perform such acts in every questions as: Why this practice? What does given to us by language, ‘artists’ and ‘acti working moment adds up to a political it mean? What interests does it serve? vists’ alike tend to inhabit the same aesthetic policy. Such a photographer wants to help people ideology. Artists believe that they can pre The only imaginable non-political being is become conscious of the forces which shape sent a totally content-free world of pure a totally self-sufficient hermit. The photo their day-to-day lives; to realise that the forms. Activists believe in the autonomous grapher who has chosen to live in a society social order is not a natural order, and thus power of ‘the truth’ which will impose itself Fig. 3 and enjoy its benefits, even though he also beyond all change, but is made by people regardless of formal considerations. It will The photograph is a sign, or more correct chooses to put on blinkers when he squints and can be changed by them. The political pay us, if we arc concerned with what ly speaking, a complex of signs, used to com into a viewfinder, is willy-nilly an actor in a ly dissident photographer however is involv photographers ‘say,’ to examine the devices municate a message. If you show me a pho political situation. So how is it that so many ed in an apparent paradox, that of seeking to which enable photography to say things, de tograph of a pile of stones then, at an im people can genuinely believe that they lead penetrate appearances with an instrument vices so familiar to us they may pass mediate level, my eye receives visual a-political lives and that it is others designed specifically to record appearances unnoticed. ‘noise’ just as my car received verbal noise ‘militants’ and ‘extremists’ — who ‘have’ and appearances alone. Popular photography magazines periodi when you spoke to me in Greek. We can ideology, not themselves? We must first say cally carry articles advising their readers to suppose that 1 have seen photographs since what we mean by ‘ideology.’ look for ‘contrast.’ Such articles generally I was a child and so have no problem in When we look at the day-to-day life of a begin with a directive to look for contrasts terpreting these irregular patches of light distant culture — behaviour, customs, dress, of light and dark tones, rough and smooth and dark tones as representing stones. diet — we arc immediately struck by its textures.............and then move from form- (When African bushmen were first shown strangeness: Why do they do that? Why do oriented to content-oriented oppositions photographs, they had to be taught to read they eat those? What docs it all mean? such as young/old, happy/sad, etc. Such them). But what beyond this? If I go on to Few such questions trouble us as we pursue contrasts are indeed part of the stock-in- remark that the photograph depicts a tem our own lives in our own culture, and if they trade of the professional — take, for exam ple, that the temple is ruined, and that is were asked, they would probably get short ple, the picture of ‘victory and defeat’ in Greek, then I am relying upon knowledge shrift. Why does a man generally let a fe Fig. 1. that is no longer ‘natural’, ‘purely visual’; 1 male stranger precede him when he is going Most active photographers arc aware of am relying upon knowledge that is cultural, into a shop, but not when he is boarding a the phenomenon the ‘third effect’: two verbally transmitted, and in the final analy bus? Why do men hang ties around their images side-by-side tend to generate mean sis, ideological (I might think ‘cradle of civil necks when they wear a shirt, but not when ings not produced by either image on its isation’ or ‘damned Greeks’ according to they wear a roll-neck jumper? The ques own. This effect may be produced by bring when and where I happened to be born). tions appear silly, the answers obvious. ing together two physically-distinct prints Most photographers are aware of using This is ideology as ‘world-view,’ a common- (from two separate negatives), or by juxta some sort of system of effects in their work, sense understanding of ‘the way things are’ posing two distinct elements within a single but such systematisation as may be achieved which is unquestioningly ‘taken for granted.’ frame.

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