Shock Photography and Conceptual Art

In the Barthes article on Shock Photography, he ends by saying: “The literal photograph introduces us to the scandal of horror, not to horror itself.” This reminds me of the discussions had in class about conceptual artists and works like Self Burial. In these works, it is not about the photograph as art, but rather, it is about the documentation of the event as art. It was discussed in class how works like these were critical of the mindless viewing of especially television, which at the time had become widespread. These works, while at first glance are easy to follow, become more and more problematic after looking at them for longer periods of time.

In this way, I would argue these works are very much so related to the kinds of “shock photography” discussed in the Barthes essay. In shock photography, it is not about the photograph as shocking, but rather, it is about the event and the documentation of those horrors as shocking. In this way, shock photography is also an exercise in artwork’s ability to be critical. At first glance, images like these seem distanced and the viewer remains unaffected because people have become so numbed to graphic imagery and violence, especially today. After looking closer though, one begins to see really just how horrific the images are; they stop looking at the picture and begin to see the event itself.