SPRING 2022
© Maxim Dondyuk / Der Spiegel
The truth of photographic images has been challenged since the 19th century when the means for making them were invented. While the medium was embraced by the public at large, photographers have grappled with the methods and techniques available to them, experimenting with technologies as they emerged and discovering the capacity of the medium to represent the world they experienced.
Photographs are inherently subjective in the ways in which they are made and perceived. There is no absolute truth in the photographic image. Photographers frame the reality that they see, whether the process is spontaneous or planned.
The truth of photography relies not only on the integrity of the image, but on its accessibility. If truth in image making is a commodity, how much is it worth, and how do we determine its value?
Photographs are inherently subjective in the ways in which they are made and perceived. There is no absolute truth in the photographic image. Photographers frame the reality that they see, whether the process is spontaneous or planned.
The truth of photography relies not only on the integrity of the image, but on its accessibility. If truth in image making is a commodity, how much is it worth, and how do we determine its value?
VIEWING TRUTH IN PHOTOGRAPHY
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CONFLICT PHOTOGRAPHY
The struggle to ascertain the truth in photography has never been more challenging. Complicated by the insidiousness of photo-manipulation and artificial intelligence, the image we see may not be what, where, or who we think it is.
Truth is inevitably a feeling, a sixth sense, that tells us whether what we are experiencing is factual and real. Still, any image, regardless of its content, without an honest attempt to contextualize it can be misleading.
Robert Capa once said, “The truth is the best picture, the best propaganda.” Sadly, this statement seems overly simplistic in today’s world. There is no single “best” picture, nor is there “best propaganda.”
At this moment, nowhere is the dilemma of truth more evident than in the Ukraine, where gruesome images of the war with Russia are being used by both sides as propaganda. But in the end, the truth of the image is more than that. Truth is knowledge, and knowledge engenders understanding, and at its best, can focus public attention on urgent humanitarian needs, and hopefully lead to meaningful change.
The staggering scale of human suffering, devastation, and genocide is overwhelming. We are inundated with thousands of photographs, filtered, and edited by print and broadcast media. Efforts by photojournalists to document what’s going on are persevering but are also being stifled. Increasing numbers of photojournalists are being detained and killed.
Who are the arbiters of what is too horrible for us to see? is a question that weighs heavy but is ultimately rendered inconsequential. While the internet and social media can become platforms for misinformation, photographs proliferate faster than they can be censored.
The battle for truth is raging.
To begin this edition of Truth in Photography, we focus on three photographers, each with a different perspective on the terrible impact of the war in Ukraine: Maxim Dondyuk, Matthias Bruggmann, and Rafał Milach.
Truth is inevitably a feeling, a sixth sense, that tells us whether what we are experiencing is factual and real. Still, any image, regardless of its content, without an honest attempt to contextualize it can be misleading.
Robert Capa once said, “The truth is the best picture, the best propaganda.” Sadly, this statement seems overly simplistic in today’s world. There is no single “best” picture, nor is there “best propaganda.”
At this moment, nowhere is the dilemma of truth more evident than in the Ukraine, where gruesome images of the war with Russia are being used by both sides as propaganda. But in the end, the truth of the image is more than that. Truth is knowledge, and knowledge engenders understanding, and at its best, can focus public attention on urgent humanitarian needs, and hopefully lead to meaningful change.
The staggering scale of human suffering, devastation, and genocide is overwhelming. We are inundated with thousands of photographs, filtered, and edited by print and broadcast media. Efforts by photojournalists to document what’s going on are persevering but are also being stifled. Increasing numbers of photojournalists are being detained and killed.
Who are the arbiters of what is too horrible for us to see? is a question that weighs heavy but is ultimately rendered inconsequential. While the internet and social media can become platforms for misinformation, photographs proliferate faster than they can be censored.
The battle for truth is raging.
To begin this edition of Truth in Photography, we focus on three photographers, each with a different perspective on the terrible impact of the war in Ukraine: Maxim Dondyuk, Matthias Bruggmann, and Rafał Milach.
PHOTOGRAPHING UKRAINE
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The following photo essays interrogate the pervasive effects of war in everyday life. Debi Cornwall explores immersive realistic training scenarios where American soldiers are involved in “dress rehearsals for their possible futures as casualties of war.” Amira Oguntoyinbo discusses how Kati Horna's photography humanizes both the civilians and soldiers of the Spanish Civil War. Shelby Barthelemy investigates how photographs like those of Gilles Peress can increase awareness and empathy, and Kay Brown examines how Peter van Agtmael aims for “the edges of iconic” in his photography.
PHOTOGRAPHY BEYOND THE BATTLEFRONT
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SCALE AND MULTIPLICITY
In the contemporary world we encounter increasing numbers of photographs on a daily basis. Whether as small as a thumbnail on an iPhone screen or as large as a highway billboard, we are constantly being challenged to make sense of images which we may or may not understand.
The International Center of Photography is currently presenting the exhibitions A Trillion Sunset and Actual Size!, on view January 28—May 2, 2022. A Trillion Sunsets: A Century of Image Overload takes a long look at our worries and compulsive fascination with the proliferation of photographic images. The exhibition Actual Size! Photography at Life Scale is a playful yet philosophical exhibition that offers viewers a diverse group of images that all share the same dimension as life itself.
The International Center of Photography is currently presenting the exhibitions A Trillion Sunset and Actual Size!, on view January 28—May 2, 2022. A Trillion Sunsets: A Century of Image Overload takes a long look at our worries and compulsive fascination with the proliferation of photographic images. The exhibition Actual Size! Photography at Life Scale is a playful yet philosophical exhibition that offers viewers a diverse group of images that all share the same dimension as life itself.
