Campany reading

Blog post april 15^th

          Joel Meyerowitz was commissioned by museum of NYC for official images of the clean up.  He has been photographing for decades so taking well-composed images comes naturally to him.  He was the only photographer with exclusive access to ground zero.  Meyerowitz used a forty-five pound, sixty year old camera to capture the aftermath moments.  This was from the suggestion that photo was a better medium for the “official history”.  Meyerowitz was quoted say that “I felt if there was no photographic record allowed, then it was history erased”.  This is an interesting concept because it basically says if we don’t have record of something then it doesn’t exist.  It gives the present moment less validity and value.  I think that our culture stands by this notion because everyone now has a camera on their phone and records almost all their actions to share with the world, or at least their friends.   Recording significant moments is important but is it more important to be fully present in those moments?  It is a question that I deal with constantly and it forces me to leave my phone at home when I go out sometimes.

            Campany points out that what may stick to history beyond the photos, is the fact that there was only one delegated body of photos to represent the aftermath.  Campany describes Meyerowitz’s job to be a trace of the trace of an event.  The aftermath pictures have more beauty to them and are “cool”.  They become forensic files as opposed to journalism.  The photos have no humans present but there are “remnants of activity” This leaves the viewer to create the interpretation of what happened.  These photos become easier to look at without the presence of humans because the high emotions connected with seeing suffering humans is hard to look at.  It is easier to view the decay of a building structure rather than the decay of a severed human.  Another issue that Campany points out is that  “the photo can be an aid to memory and a obstacle that blocks access to the past at the same time”.  I agree with this notion because people will rely too much on the actual photo rather than digging deeper for further information.  This also relates to the fact that Meyerowitz was the designated photographer so this is merely one perspective on the account of what happened. 

Memory and photo in relation to other media is another idea that Campny wants his readers to think about.  How the photos are talked about and where they are displayed matters.  When displayed on television the images show the “presentness of moving image to emphasize pastness of photo”.  Still photo is more memorable than moving.  I think this is because a still photo is an object that can sometimes be held.  A still photo also is one solid thing or idea as opposed to many things or ideas with video.  Another interesting concept that Campany conveys is that a photograph doesn’t naturally say 1000 words but in fact a 1000 words can be said about a photograph.

Campany brings up the point that Vietnam was the last war that photographers were not censored by the military.  Pointing out that the Gulf War was null of photographers and that most photos were taken in the aftermath.  This “communicated the feeling of being outside the time of history of events and politics”.  I believe he is relating this to the fact that Meyerowitz was the main photographer of the aftermath and that this has an affect of what we perceive the 9/11 catastrophe to be.