After having read about the work by Trevor Paglen and seeing the kinds of images he is producing, I came to see this as an example of photography going beyond itself. The real value of photography and of studying the history and development of photography is being able to recognize just how important it has become, how much a part of our culture it is. The role of photography is constantly changing and adapting for every place and time, both creating and addressing conflict. Photography is active and passive, radical and conservative, political and aesthetic. With Paglen’s photographs specifically, the role of photography here is to make us think. “Limit Telephotography” and “The Other Night Sky” are not difficult to view or understand, but they are meant to lead the viewer to think about the complexities beyond the photos themselves. The photographs prompt us to think, and in a way, the fact that they don’t directly illustrate specific arguments or conflicts makes them that much more powerful. Just like how we considered Dorothea Lang’s title choices: she kept them simple, letting the viewer discover the irony for themselves, making the experience of the photos that much more complex and powerful.
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