WINTER 2021
According to a 2020 Gallup/Knight poll, four in five Americans said the spread of misinformation online is “a major problem,” exceeding all other challenges posed by the media. During the 2020 election, the manipulation of the truth in photography was rampant in news reporting, political advertising, and social media. Photographic images, whether in print, video, or digital media have been and continue to be edited and re-contextualized.
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 continued to grapple 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 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 continued to grapple 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.
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 2021, an estimated 1.4397 trillion photographs will be made. In the digital age it is easier than ever for people to share photographs in a multitude of forms. The accuracy, meaning, and ethics of this documentation engender constant discussion, review, and debate. The context through which images are made and disseminated have become as important, if not more so, than the content alone.
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What is truth? What questions do photographs raise? Who owns the image – the photographer or the subject of the photograph? What is the relationship between photographer and subject and how is this defined, negotiated, and acknowledged? What are the consequences of making photographs? To what extent do photographs serve human needs? How do photographs express universal values? When is a photograph evidence and when is it interpretation? When do photographs become political or propaganda? What is the border between truth and fiction? And how do we know the difference?
The border is one of the most compelling metaphors of our time.
The border is the threshold between what we know and what we struggle to comprehend.
The border is one of the most compelling metaphors of our time.
The border is the threshold between what we know and what we struggle to comprehend.
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Freedom and slavery.
Health and illness. Wealth and poverty. Wisdom and ignorance. Life and death. |
The border is at once geographical and psychological, and can engender anxiety, fear, and potentially, violence. Today, immigration and the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall are two of the most pressing issues of our time.
The photographs and videos presented here reflect diverse perspectives on the reality of the border.
The photographs and videos presented here reflect diverse perspectives on the reality of the border.
Flickr Photos
Many different views of the border can be found online and on social media. The below photos are from photo-sharing site Flickr.
Balloon Vendor - US/Mexico Border Fence. Despite the serious nature of the US/Mexico border fence at the beach in Tijuana, a balloon vendor attempts to bring some joy. April 25, 2009. Photograph by Romel Jacinto.
Wall of Crosses in Nogales.
White crosses with the names of those who have died crossing the US border adorn the Mexican side of the wall in Heroica Nogales, Mexico. September 17, 2009. Photograph by Jonathan McIntosh.
Frontera. Photo from the US-Mexico border. September 10, 2013. Photograph by journalist Brooke Binkowski.
Frontera. Photo from the US-Mexico border. September 10, 2013. Photograph by journalist Brooke Binkowski.
End of the Wall. The spot where the US border wall meets the pacific ocean. September 20, 2009. Photograph by Jonathan McIntosh.
A soldier from the 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard observes a section of the Rio Grande River at sunset. He is serving at the Texas-Mexico border in support of Operation Strong Safety. September 11, 2014. U.S. Army photograph by Maj. Randall Stillinger.
North Carolina Army National Guard Private First Class Holt Duggins, 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, Fayetteville, North Carolina, looks through his binoculars at an area of the Mexican border in San Luis, Arizona. National Guard Soldiers are working with the US Border Patrol in support of Operation JUMP START. Photograph by TSGT Brian E. Christiansen, USAF.
US-Mexico border fence. October 9, 2014. Photograph by Sheila Ahmadi.
Solidarity march with immigrants and refugees. About 3000 people gathered in Powderhorn Park to stand in solidarity with immigrants and refugees. The protesters spoke against Donald Trump's immigration ban and the increasing militarization at the US-Mexico border. After a brief rally in the park, they marched through south Minneapolis on Lake Street. February 18, 2017. Photograph by Fibonacci Blue.
Rally in solidarity with immigrants and refugees. About 3000 people gathered in Powderhorn Park to stand in solidarity with immigrants and refugees. The protesters spoke against Donald Trump's immigration ban and the increasing militarization at the US-Mexico border. After a brief rally in the park, they marched through south Minneapolis on Lake Street. February 18, 2017. Photograph by Fibonacci Blue.
THE ETHICS OF TRUTH
ETHICS OF SEEING
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The Civil War
The Civil War was the first major conflict to be extensively photographed, bringing the horrific images of war to the eyes of people nationwide. But were those images truthful? What were the ethics of war photography at this early stage in the history of photography?
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“The very nature of what is photographed and how is heavily affected by the influence of admired photographers with distinct personal visions, patterns of success in contests and the traditions and expectations of the commissioning body. Style, lens choice, position, what to show and what to exclude in the framing, editing, equipment choice, toning, sequence are all manipulative and subjective.”
~Peter Van Agtmael ”Why Facts Aren't Always Truths in Photography,“ Time magazine, May 12, 2016 |
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The Last Look
Photographs of death can raise difficult ethical questions. Establishing the social and cultural context of the photographs is critical to their understanding.
Among African Americans, photographs of deceased loved ones, usually in an open casket in a church or funeral home are often called “The Last Look.” About these photographs, Larry O’Shea Johnson, Sr. Pastor of the Greater True Light Baptist Church in Dallas, has said, “For many black people, the Last Look pictures reflect with the idea of homegoing meaning heaven. Normally, people take these pictures or have them made in a tasteful way to preserve the memory of that person, and for family reasons, to show grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
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“Last Look” photographs. 1950-1992. Photographs by Curtis Humphrey. Texas African American Photography Archive.
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A short video directed by Alan Govenar about Curtis Humphrey working in his darkroom. Photographer Curtis Humphrey (1907-1996) made “Last Look” photographs for African Americans in East Texas.
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COVID-19 DALLAS
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THE MANIPULATION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC TRUTH
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“There used to be a time when one could show people a photograph and the image would have the weight of evidence—the ‘camera never lies.’ Certainly, photography always lied, but as a quotation from appearances it was something viewers counted on to reveal certain truths. The photographer’s role was pivotal but constricted: for decades the mechanics of the photographic process were generally considered a guarantee of credibility more reliable than the photographer’s own authorship.”
~Fred Ritchin “What a Photograph Can Accomplish: Bending the Frame,” Time magazine, May 28, 2013 |
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While photography has long been celebrated for its capacity to accurately represent the world, efforts to manipulate the images produced have paralleled the pursuit of truth, whether through tinting, painting, printing techniques, Photoshop, cell phone and pocket camera software, Flickr, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Snapchat. The manipulation of the photographic image, willfully or through artificial intelligence, is so insidious that it's difficult to assess the veracity of the image we are viewing.
Faces created using artificial intelligence can be found for free at ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com. They can also be purchased for personal or commercial use from sites like Generated.Photos, for as cheap as $2.99 for an individual image or $1,000 for 1,000 images. Uses range from businesses who want worry free stock images to individuals seeking anonymity.
The three images below were created with the photorealistic face generation software StyleGAN and posted on ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com. These images all have at least one glitch that reveal that they are computer generated.
Faces created using artificial intelligence can be found for free at ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com. They can also be purchased for personal or commercial use from sites like Generated.Photos, for as cheap as $2.99 for an individual image or $1,000 for 1,000 images. Uses range from businesses who want worry free stock images to individuals seeking anonymity.
The three images below were created with the photorealistic face generation software StyleGAN and posted on ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com. These images all have at least one glitch that reveal that they are computer generated.
Note that this woman has two different earrings.
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Note how one side of this man's glasses is different from the other side.
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This man's companion has become distorted by the software.
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In this video from a Zoom interview, Fred Ritchin discusses how artificial intelligence can create fake people in photographs, and the difficulty of distinguishing a fake.
Then test your ability to tell the difference at WhichFaceIsReal.com |
Photoshop Manipulation
In October 2020, Adobe Photoshop released an update that has made manipulating images easier than ever. The new neural filters can quickly colorize a photo, transfer makeup from one face to another, alter the angle of the light, and even change the angle of a subject's face. With a couple of mouse clicks, the Smart Portrait filter can change a subject's facial expression, age, or hair thickness. With these alterations easier than ever, trusting the veracity of an image, even an archival one, becomes more difficult.
Original Photo
Unidentified woman. Real photo postcard, c. 1904-1918. Texas African American Photography Archive.
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Colorized
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Expression Changed
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COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
Community Photography
Community photographers, while they may not have formal training or work professionally, recognize their role as integral to the to the places in which they live and work. They focus on day-to-day events, ceremonies, and activities, from baptisms, family reunions, graduations, weddings and funerals to homecoming parades and protest demonstrations. In cities and towns across the nation, photographs of this kind have been proudly displayed for decades in people’s homes, local churches, businesses, civic buildings, and schools because they document groups and individuals who are held in high esteem. Sometimes, the photographer is not identified or credited because the emphasis is upon family, social and professional groups, and the recognition of the community infrastructure.
Documentary Arts Fellows
The annual Documentary Arts Fellowship enables students in ICP’s Full-Time Programs—the ICP-Bard MFA program and the One-Year Certificate programs in General Studies in Photography, Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism, and New Media Narratives—to deepen their photography practice, while supporting Documentary Arts’ goal to present new perspectives on history and culture.
Leda Costa
Documentary Arts Fellow, 2015-2016
© Leda Costa
“Bowery Polaroids is a multimedia project documenting the transitions of New York City's Bowery neighborhood through environments Polaroid portraits of locals and quotes of what life in the neighborhood is all about. I explore themes of identity in community by threading quotes together with portraits of locals. I write the street of current residence on the front of the Polaroid so as to keep a live document of what this moment in time is like. The tangible Polaroids act as pieces to a puzzle that is forever expanding.”
~Leda Costa
~Leda Costa
Nicholas Sansone
Documentary Arts Fellow, 2018-2019
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“Whether it's a bar, corner store or coffee shop, having a place which feels familiar in a city as chaotic as New York is essential for one’s sanity. Bodegas tend to be this place for many by default because of their extended service hours and unpretentious offerings. Tuna, Whole Wheat focuses on the dynamics of the men who work at two midtown Manhattan bodegas/delis. The corner stores were two of my biggest accounts when I worked as a sales rep for the Coca-Cola company, and over time I got to know the employees as individuals. Tuna, Whole Wheat highlights the kinship and interpersonal relationships that exist amongst a group of men from varying countries and cultures at work.”
~Nicholas Sansone |
© Nicholas Sansone
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Violette Franchi
Documentary Arts Fellow, 2019-2020
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© Violette Franchi
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“Crossroads documents an intersection facing a rapid urban transition and connects invisible neighbors with different living situations (both housed and homeless). At the crossing between Flatlands Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue are located New York City’s biggest Church, the Christian Cultural Center, and the nation’s largest federally-subsidized apartment complex, Starrett City, home to more than 15,000 people spread across 46 buildings. Situated in Brooklyn, East New York is one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City and incurred the highest death rate of coronavirus-related deaths in the city as of May 2020.
The narrative plays with multiple voices and mediums to give a wide sense of place, urban and domestic. Between promises and reality, intentional gaps are placed for the viewer to create their own fiction. Crossroads is about a crossing between past and future, a place of multiple identities, of realities that never look like they do in the commercials, urban plans or the news. It examines an intersection made of huge-scale housing, contemporary city dwellers, loneliness, countless windows, broken promises, homelessness, car culture, lives that are broken over and over, pride and everyday odysseys.” ~Violette Franchi |
Cultural Identity
For more than a century, photographers have grappled with the means to represent people and their daily lives in the world in which they live and work. Photographs can perpetuate stereotypes, creating positive images or reinforcing negative ones, in the ways they document cultural processes, social relationships, and the human condition.
Given the interactive nature of photography, someone who belongs to a cultural group may have greater knowledge and personal experience and may elicit a more trusting, open response, but not necessarily. The resulting images, as always, depend on the individual photographer and the elements of a specific circumstance. The degree of physical and psychological closeness with the subject of the photograph can both enhance, and potentially hinder, the perception of photographic truth.
The needs for self-representation have never been greater. Inclusivity through multiple points of view are essential to conveying truth in photography.
Given the interactive nature of photography, someone who belongs to a cultural group may have greater knowledge and personal experience and may elicit a more trusting, open response, but not necessarily. The resulting images, as always, depend on the individual photographer and the elements of a specific circumstance. The degree of physical and psychological closeness with the subject of the photograph can both enhance, and potentially hinder, the perception of photographic truth.
The needs for self-representation have never been greater. Inclusivity through multiple points of view are essential to conveying truth in photography.
