Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Annette Kuhn -Remembrance Response

In this article Annette Kuhn talks about family photography, and the memories that come stem from images. In the beginning of the article Kuhn discusses how photographs are evidence, and they can "be material for interpretation." This poses the photograph as a short of problem or riddle to be solved. I think that this is an interesting take on how a family photograph can have multiple meanings based on each members personal opinion. Kuhn discusses this possibility of multiple meanings in a photograph of a herself as a child. The image was taken by her father but she notes that on the back of the image her mother wrote a caption, possibly "to force others' memories into line with her own." It is also a way for the mother to insert herself into this moment. The captions also work to form a sort of family drama, especially when the daughter edits the caption.

The idea that the meaning of a photograph can be interpreted in many different ways reminds me of the phrase "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," (the meaning is in the eyes of the beholder as well). I also enjoy how Kuhn notes that photographs of the past deal a great deal with the future, "family photographs may affect to show us the past, but what we do with them - how we use them - is really about today, not yesterday." Which makes sense when relating to the idea that we are shaped by our pasts.

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