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?

VIEWING TRUTH IN PHOTOGRAPHY

The exhibitions can be viewed in sequence or in whichever order the viewer chooses. Select a theme from the menu bar at the top of the page, or click one of the buttons below.​​

LOOKING FOR TRUTH IN A DIGITAL AGE

In this installment of Looking for Truth in a Digital Age:
  • Sim Chi Yin brings family snapshots and postcards to books and the stage 
  • Melissa Harris investigates the photography of inanimate humanoids by Jamie Diamond and Elena Dorfman​

PHOTOGRAPHING MEMORY
Sim Chi Yin

Photographer Sim Chi Yin explores new artistic territory using family snapshots and postcards, and presenting photographs in performative readings.

SURROGATE
Melissa Harris

Melissa Harris interviews photographers Jamie Diamond and Elena Dorfman about their documentation of intimacy with inanimate humanoids.

CONFLICT PHOTOGRAPHY

“The idea to dedicate this edition to the aesthetics of conflict photography came about while I was admiring a photograph made by Matthias Bruggmann during the war in Syria at a photography fair – it felt like a clash of worlds: to be faced with the tragic consequences of war while at an art fair. Contemporary photographers are approaching conflict in many different ways, balancing their mission of bearing witness and creating visually compelling images. Thinkers such as Susan Sontag have written extensively about the intersections between photography and suffering and atrocity while photography historians such as Anne Tucker have laid the groundwork for inquiry into war photography. Writers such as Teju Cole and Lauren Walsh have offered more recent reflections on the topic.
Picture
© Matthias Bruggmann
Given the complexity of image consumption today in an era of ‘fake news,’ we have chosen a range of photographers here who bring powerful, creative, and symbolic perspectives to documenting conflict.
​
In the Spring edition, we will feature photographers such as Debi Cornwall and contributions by Shelby Barthelemy, Kay Brown, and Amira Oguntoyinbo on conflict photography as well. ”
~Kristen Gresh, Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Senior Curator of Photographs, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Delve deeper

Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others
Anne Tucker, War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and its Aftermath
Teju Cole, “What Does It Mean to Look at This?”
Lauren Walsh, Conversations on Conflict Photography

BEFORE CONFLICT:
​THE WOMEN TAKING THE BATTLE TO ISIS
Newsha Tavakolian

When photographing young women joining the fight against ISIS, Newsha Tavakolian was as interested in documenting their stories through their words as she was in making their photographs as they prepare for warfare.

DURING CONFLICT:
THE GRAY AREAS
Moises Saman

Moises Saman discusses the complicated nature of conflict photography, and why he doesn't think of himself as a conflict photographer.

AFTER CONFLICT:
​AFGHAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY
Emin Özmen​

​The Taliban campaign to seize Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US forces has resulted in a new refugee crisis. Emin Özmen sees his photographs as evidence of "what happened and is happening.”

SYRIAN CONFLICT
​Matthias Bruggmann

After photographing the conflict in Syria, Matthias Bruggmann believes that “we've reached the end of photography.”

SIMULATING IRAQ
Claire Beckett

With photographs showing the ways the military depicts Arabs and Muslims during counterinsurgency training, ​Claire Beckett draws attention to the problematic depiction of “cultural others.”

COLLECTING CONFLICT
Charles Dee Mitchell and Kristen Gresh

Charles Dee Mitchell discusses his collection of photography that includes military conflict, as well as images of the US-Mexico border and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

TRANSFORMATION OF TRUTH

Photography can transform our perception of truth by evoking an emotional or visceral connection with the viewer via the resonance of the image and the tension between art and information. While this can be achieved through the techniques of photomanipulation, it can also result from the act of photography itself — blurring the image with slow shutter speeds or framing the scene or person being photographed in unusual ways that effect its perception.
 
What constitutes truth is not necessarily documentary of reality as it appears but as it is felt and experienced.

Delve deeper

“Reading the Shadows: the Photography of Roy DeCarava”
Exposure, vol. 27, issue 4, fall 1990

DELEGATION
Wendy Red Star

Visual artist Wendy Red Star alters photographs, both historical and her own, through collage and Photoshop to create works of art that integrate and recast her research.

THE CASE OF THE KING'S PICTURE
Andrea Stultiens

Andrea Stultiens explores the truth behind a historic photograph of African king Kabaka Muteesa I, and has a variety of artists create interpretations of the photograph for a research project.

MING SMITH

Ming Smith uses a variety of techniques to transform her photographs, including double exposure, collage, and painting on prints.
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