War photography has allowed us to stay connected with our soldiers over seas. The power of war journalism was so immense that military authorities actually tried controlling photographers and writers from entering areas of action and conflict. Photographers were confined to working in environments isolated from the violence of war. This opened up new opportunities. Photographers began to focus on the trail of destruction that the war had left behind. Photographs of buildings, ruined by battle conveyed a different message than the “in-action” photography that had been previously done. It spoke more of showing respect to the suffering of the people who inhabited the war torn areas. This moved the photographers’ work from documentary into the realm of art through its more complex and thoughtful content. The photographs moved to art galleries and out of the papers. This move was important because when a photograph is put into context with words, it loses its interpretational value and is tied down to the words that it is displayed alongside. But, when the photograph is displayed as a standalone piece, the viewer is given the chance to input their own thoughts about the photograph.
2 comments:
I think it is important to understand the implications of presenting work like this without words and without specific interpretation. I feel as though post-war photography that reveals the utter destruction of places and people and lives often requires delicacy and can be softened a bit by the inclusion of words. A stark gallery wall where people can look upon these images and think to themselves "oh, how beautiful/interesting/artistic" is almost... strange, because truly, how beautiful is somebody's home ravaged by war?
I agree alot with what both Nick and Kelsey discussed. War photography changed our entire interpretation of not only the world around us and the wars we were fighting in, but it changed how we chose to receive information. It seemed as though pictures spoke countless more words than any article or report could. This was, often times, people's first exposure to foreign lands and seeing our country in context to these new and strange places helped shape our connotations towards the wars we were fighting. Being a "navy brat" I always tried to avoid these photographs, atleast those of the present. They seemed to be "too real". There is such a difference between looking at these photos post-war and viewing these photos as wars are still going on. It is easier to look t these photos when you know their final result; when you know all the pain and suffering was worth the cause.
-Morgan Kirol
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