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ard feedsinto a a I'teralworld, for that is merelya surfaceappearance, largermrthologr ofverisinilitude The PhorograPhi*o he seenasthe asmuch Psvchologi.,lis Political;a ff;tique sueofa radicalaestheric, ofrhe dominant ideologyand thus a crucial form of rePresenmrion esEisensteinsradicaltbeorieson crncma Drawingon the samesources and filn. a new vicw of the photograph energed Much of rhN developnent,aswe might expect,took placein Revolutionlry Russia arr and in rgros Ge.manl,,where the i$umptions of.ePresentatiomL ideolog','. bourgeois and corruri were aligned with a dncredited Rejecring the idea of a coher€nl and unined sociaLspace' such photographerssought to disrupt generalassumptionsas to how w€ srructurean a$umed natural'world, rnd in the Photogrrphl ol Constructi*m and rhe ph osoPhvofasr,zzrzr (or'making strange) se \ ee. une or 'r . m o. t dvnu: c r r d r udicr ir e r lt ' Alihough int€rradonalin signiiicince,rhe rootr .f Co. stru.tivism lay in the rgri RussianRevolution.lt soughtan art apPropriateto the social and political ideals of rhe new order and, b! imPlication, questionedre.lism as a modeof representationEl Lissitzls (Eliez* Markowich, r89o rgar), a Ru$ian photogfuphet,;s c€nral to its approach.A qualified architect,his caree.in R!$ir and Germrnv reflectsthe major concernsand achielemcntofthe ftolement in the period, especial\'in rhe photograph.He knew Nlalevichand Tathr' and in Berlin net Kurt Sch$',ttersand Herberi Bav* h 1919he crearedthe coverfor the r i.^l F t.-A,y a d had examplesofllis
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responscwas vhrt his friend Ezn Pound called the Uattograph/3917) Basedon a sen€sof mirron, Coburn photogaphedrhe subiect 11071. (a pereonor object)castanidst the possibitiwofan infinite oumberof reflections. The result lE ekin to Cub;t portraituft, and broke rhe su.face literalness ot edlicr photogrephy. His portralr of Pouod. in particular, sccmcd to speak to precisely the spirn of the nodern for which Pound, with his own intercst io Vonicisn, wa, calling. For once the most mod€rnmediumofthc zns couldrcflectthe most modernof In manv wals, of couree, thc photograph had beeo maaipulatcd from irs inception,aod cenainlythe combinationprinrsof Rejlander, single prints built up frcm the u* ofscveml ncgatives,points towrds rhe larcr developrnenrsofphotognphic colag€ and monrage. We can find*amples ofboth forns in rhc dinetcenthcenturySituilar\',Louis Ducos du Hauron's use of wh.t h. calcd trusfomisn' in r88e established the use ofdistonion 6 a basic m.thod to alter the litcrd appeannce of thc subject. Even thc nuch vaunted Rayographs 'disowred' by Ma Ray arc effectively reruns of rhe ?hotog€nic drawings ofTa.lbor We co point to oth€r samples in thc period, but perhaps what distinguishes them fron their twenticth century counteipffts is prcciselyrhar they la.k a ndi.al philosophy, a pereisteot qucstioningofthe meansofreprcseotationthat wasto b€ basicto th€ B.giDning in the rgoosw€seea scricsofphotographerswho begin to both qucstion photog.aphic pmctice and rclate thci conce.ns to the moderrist iesihetic beginning to make itself felt in painting and litcrature. In this view the photograph is not concernedwith mirroring
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vork included in th€ climacri€ photographic exhibition Filn tzd Foto, which reflccredmany of the 'nw' photographicconcernsa*ociated wirh the nan;pul.ted ;nage. Tb. Coi$fu.t / Gs2i 'roal (a seif ponrait) is a centfutinage for an uodertdding of tb€ Consmrctivisr maoifesto The imagc leca.ls Lissinky's knowledge of dchitecture (as a constructor), bur equally cquatesth. photographervith thc figurc ofthe engineer' Both 6gur€, build and design the basicstructures of a new sociai order But the title has lreer rcverberations, for this is literallv a manifesto on the way we do not interpat our wond so much as constructit (or h2ve it constructedfor us).Itthus seeksa radicalrevisionofour own termsof rcftrenceand, Iike a political posteavisualy sPe.kr our to a radical point of vi€w. The multiple image interacts with the viewer on a numberoflevelsand deliberatelyask us ro re2Jit in an achvecontext Like much constructivistwork, ir r informed bv a brash, almost energy,appropriateto rhe revolutionaryspirit of changeit aggressive, seeksto .eflect and tap. The head in the image has a dominant presence; calculatedand knowing, it looksd;.ecdl ai borh the viewer and the world it seeksto construct.Equ,Iy. rhe eye is placedat the certre ofrhe hand. enphasizingrhe.elation berweenthe inreledual ad the physicalmd onceagainunderlvingthe Porentsignifionc of by the *cle' rhe compass'rnd the dtle. Theunityis tulrher suggested the exdples ofmodern g?ology.The photographis a suPerbexamPle ofa revolutio.ary spirit instilled into I Programmaticimagewhich refectsa multiplesubjectmattei ks economyof meanidg,very rnuch a maner ofdesign, is as nuch corstructedas thc socialand political worldsatwhich it directsits attention. ,m,ge. are nrl of such dvnmrc rel,rion'hrP' Jnd L;\nzhi mearings,ju" asthe,voft.n sugsesta scnseofbuilding. The emphasis of the termsofrepresentation,mucb aswe 6nd io is on an awareness ihe rh€atre of Brecht. Figuas 6ll the fiame, often wirh a low angle which suegesrs rhe 6gure as dominant and in control of its cnvi.onncdt mrh.r thd passiveand rcccptive.Lissitzkys world ; one of action, and ft images esiablsh a visual $ology to reflecr his '
A frimd md associateof Lissitzlg! was the Painrer and phorognpherAlaandr Miklrailovich RodchenkoG89r re56)-Also a Consrructivist,he abudoned PhotoS.aPh)in the re4osfor abstrlct paotine Like his ftiend, however,Rodchenko nadf ad equalv radi.al the social change he sought His phor.g-phy ap.ble of abras;veeFect,and the came.adistorts the inae€s hac a bold md -fl€cting mqie io ordcr to enphasizethe pcsenceofthe 6gu.e-Onceagainthe focus is on a self-consciousPicnlring. so ihzt rhe readeris awareofihe imase; st!at.Fe\ and le&n' accordinglt lrgure 6U rl-e frame rngle m d;.oned, wirh rhe eult rhar rhe Perpecrrveon rling r' 'h"i
sen s both ndicrl and chalenging. In Rodchcnko Consnuclivilt principLs mergc vith Futuist tilucs, cesting humrn fuutls amidsr . gcomctry of $rrounding stluctuli Gddr, lhcs, p.tt.ft) 1' p.rr of thc fargu dy.rtnic tb,J ;' thc ir,oderr. Piotuc @itba Hn (r%o) Iro9) ha6 r g?icrl ndical point ofview. Thc po* is dominur ad rcflcts thc dtcnt to wiich thc tidc is Enccrcd in thc imagc. Liltc thc photognphu, thc muicio is sc€nasa pionec/, uothcr oamplc ofa Cons6uclivilt making his v/orld. But this is dso .bout ned for ry rcvolution.ry ideal to mat! it!.lf hcard. Ar mucb I postcr a 1 photogtaph this trk E its placc within a radiczl pubJic rcnduing of political philmphy. Constructivjsn .st blishcd a strid.dt sd hiSl y iadicrl stylc. k sought to conGontnthcr then r! !sur. thc sFctrtor, od its brah,nd bold confguntiom stil h.vE ,bout drcm . &tsh!6s which d.nic thcn Friod contort. Lik Rodchcnko, thc wo* of Gust vc Klutds, Scrgry Scn&iq rld V.Jvrr Stcpaoou Ed.cts m ..sthctic elrcly is distinct &otrl tllt ofrnyninct .nth-ccnturyp&drsoE- Th&wo* a vibmt rnd knowing r'.dpulrtion ofdr iorgt bzsedon a dcclend politicd od rocial pcrspcctivc. Although dot r communist nor . Ru!5i4 the Hungdian-bon Lasz16MoholrNrg/ G895rga6) rcfl.ts a sinilrr concem witl dre photognph rs pan of. new mcens ofpcccption.' His wod< io Balin in thc rgros od hir rssociation with thc Bluhau! ac 6ugge5tircofhs pcdigrec as a mentor for dr pcriod Ar rbstact p.intcr bcfoc hc bccamciatcrcstcd h photography,tusbook Painnng Pbotogl4br Fihn G92t nflcct his udcrstaoding or trE image. Moholy-Na$. sought wh.t hc tcmcd drc '<:ativc utilizrtion of n* pcrceptions ud principlcs'in which photognphy% to bc a'ptlscnt tion l,'t'rrtll€r than ! copy ofnrturc'. Whca.s nost pcoplc 'baw r vid ofrh. mrld &ting Gom tltc pcriod ofthc EoEt Fihitir stcm-€ogin€', *+r.t he wE tcd wri a photognphy (rrd a paindig) basci upon 'chaaged conposition'l !,rincipLs' fiE fron taditionzl v:lucs. An csay from 1932cntidcd A Nd lffEMcnt of Visiori kts 'cight lrictics of photognphic visiorl which pcrfccrly cncapsulatethe cotrfict b.tren a pariw and rctivc usc ofphotognphic space.For Moholy-Nag} All irtdprct4ions of phot%Ephy harr hithcno becn inf,uenced by d|€ acsdrctic-phifocophic coo.rpt th.t ciroms.rib.d painting'-a positioD Eacctcd in thc larying clains of .bstnct scing, 'd.cl s..in& aswdl as'dw', 'int nsif,d', pcnctrativc', 'simulancous', aad 'distoncd' sccing. Thc act of lookins i5 Eld. problcnlric, md thc act ofphotogrlphing actiit i! i6 powE to.hege rh. tems ofpcieption. AB e'ns insEumcnt of vision', thc cu@ dlos a awarcnessud prcgmmatic of 3.chg. Thus Moholy-Nagy seks . resolutely nodo gnphic smrctur!', pan of the g€neral and ndical approach which chanctcrized Colittuctivism.
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\'' *;"' Moholv-Nagv; 'q'le r' howevrt ''b"-"t' 'f hnim A. i*n *of r h. r ed; ca. landr hequesr : onr ng age'hJve -an - *renrsmitr. s. qu.lity whlch resisr"anv rnempr ro simpLtorhem ro a Calk'\ tta"\ i\ ot belef. Aba"e thP St"aahaS ";..*, rt \usgecrs Jr --; mern;nss rn the procedure'J'd almosi po*modern ro rccognize dr|n'ult <ems E J.rtar't rrot, which evrn now " per 'oe'r iv*andhinr *er r c'or beiondnsr or qzs Bot ht hesee't r bl'h *hr ch cor f ound' oLt ir iem P'r o r ead t hem '"*. , '" ; * )inearly. -Iircrally . "- - i.and The effect n to achi*e a senseof ontuflelie 'n *hrch the rmasei' nor on\ nrdr 'rranse rr'"i*r n *rlsi." '' rhe erPected f,qm 21 everydal uot'd is d,tlcrence but insrst.on 'ndim'ge' $ork The rePrelerhtion phorographic of conwnuons rhe through rhe jMaPosiuon of rhe obvious 'nd rhe uldPecred Tr.lHprocMr!
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Diane tubus and Roben Frank. As the Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara anounced (in rgzu),'The photographerhasi.vented a new methodi he presentsio spacean inage rhargoesbeyondit... " Tzara wote rhis for an intoduction to the Russian-American Man Ray's(r89o 1976\Raygrans, a vetsionofthe phorogramand rh. caloq?e which contiouedthe aft.npt to createan element ol strangencssin the mosr common of objects.A Ra/ Rztogtun t\rrt h^s aboutita dceplvenigmaticpcsence.It createsadiscreteand enclosed specewith litde refercnce to the vorld of everyday sight, suggesting fragmentsof a drcamlike inrerior photographedby chance.Man Rayi work in photographyand pantiqg in New York and Paris through to the 19aosis centralto the 'tradition of the nanipulated
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clichtd and thc radic.l, ro produce a *ri€r of vibranr dd drnamic Moholy \rs1 qperimen'ed wirh rh€ pro.e* ofp;.!re m. bng r $eI rr wrh pnture ialans H;s .phoropl2sr;k .i ,* .,. qampie. Dur hr phorogams (am.m-ten, imagc, -u,g* bi\ed on TJbo, , caror),?eprocess!lase issues distinct from thc socialv based rnv*tiq"rim" of Con,trucivi!m. Indeed.,\e phorognn, e.r:bl.h J Dndg( beMeen rhe rwo orhcr dominant fr;srtc mowmenr. or rhe period,Slrrealismand Dadr- Both h.d an innu€nceon his wo.k and wse insrrunenraiin openingup the nodon ofavrazenn rc form of ^ plrdogruph) whnh mak6 useofrn mr$r) ttui,s psychotogic.I! *,'F": thF rcnrexr, o€ phorosnpher concemed wirh r 'l peGpcct pqycrcrograr w sou8hr an imag€ry whrch p,ctured rhe I he ,mage l@ b. giKo *, ro an zm of Fee 'o se:E:D: mdtiple ssssrion, not the crctul pronins of ind psvchological sraresof mind as s€ saw in rhe woik oi f;r exa;de.
ln many wys his work crystalizesthe problcmaticof making st r angt . lnsom eof hisim agest he. oncept isr edu. edt onot hingm or e tha. a pla)'fulartenpt to surprise;in others the use ofthe fenale is itsefproblematic;n relationtoh[ underlyingaftitudesandapproach, rhe images exisd'g as litde more than the realization of Ray's smal suggestan fotasies. Similarlvthe Ralograds, likc the solarisations', but they.laim elene.t of trickery They relatero very basicp.occsses, enomous significance.Inthe end the srrcnsthofReyi for themselves work is its humour, as in the wd.J-know Le l/iolan,1 lhga (1921),io upon which a femalemodel('Kiki') hastwo 'f' curlicuessuperimPosed herback.Th;s is both a commeoton the Fftn.h painterIngres(a keen amareurviolinist), aod on the academictradition and values Ray attacks. However, although the intent n on the play' on the shaPeof the the violin, that very apect underliesthe wav R1y aPproaches fenale form (as it does the view of women in nuch Sureaiist photographv).Like Glzr lzarr Gglo) tu2l, the me,ni'gofthe image ju\tapos,tion ofdisparate is basedon a visualpun the unexpecred humour remains awon,ns face,and it is elements -but beneaththe H; chosername(i.e Man ofMan\ pla/rlnes. this ihat isthe obj€ct knd of phorographyhe choice for the u,as ai appropriate Ra, Other images by tuv rereal how manv of hn PreoccuParions Maa (rer8),for etample,x a hand-whhk He involveeverydayobjects. t,l<escommon things md transforos them to the level of nFh or icons of a lager human condition. The photograph assumesa mctmorphosis of meaning.Ray ;s thus rhe Photographeras both Dadaist and Sunea.list, as much .ligned wirh Tristan Tzara as he is with his fnend Marcel Duchamp.His most radicrl inag€s Playioto l laget vocabulary of the sureal in which the psychological ; basic ro their €ffect. SurrealistphotograPhy,in thai sense,is besed on an .ntirely difeftnt ind* of neming from ns lirerat equilaleni lts imagery is giv€n or'€r to an alternative inner world in which all is
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ininitcly er"andableand changing-Ard yet Surealism' dssu.h, has an anbivalent retationship to the photograPh. To make sonething \ureal' denands the anempt to find thar condition' so that on€ lircrallv constructs d imaee for its €fecr rather than ;ts subsrance Mar i{ay, like Lissirzlg, Rodchenko, and Moholy-Nagv opedv manipularcsthe :m4e ard the phorogrrphrc'pace: .on'tructin8 cuning up, and fmgmentingtht prinaryterms ofthe deconstructing, in order to suggest other levels of meaning and spac" photognph;. wil merc1ydistort in order to maketh€ir Point' Othere iienificance. for *arnple, while raning orher questions nude series, Brandt's Bill about the deDiction ofthe female body, dongates and distorts the bodv asif in a fareround nirror' ln other contexts the surcal is esrablished in terms oiwhat has b€en dircctly photographed Thus Cartier Bressonand Atget (much celebratedby the Surezlists at the rim€) can er"enrhough th€y do not maniPulatetheir be s€€! as sur,'€alisrs, r l-, ey6nd r 'lecondr r iorr n r he eneit self r m r ees; 'at her : .PaJlof t he dif f er encer rnheirappr or h r heer r entt o uhich t he r oningol iFJbje'r \ \ ugg$r q, I ar getPhilo'oPhi. .quet phot ogr aph l 'r",.' lrlan Futun'r' Arron ol rhe The phorogrdpi-' *f.-*. "r hav€ somerhins of (begun noviog r9tr) of fisues in Giulio Bragaglia rhe inages of them with to conpare Indeed, this oualitiabout rhem. close in sPirit and They are rhey are how radical Multridgc is to sense a Sta;l.atr Nudc Derendihg lt9'r) Mtcel Drchanp's approach ro a new signaled painting'l,eg.r's contemporary F.rn"nd l;ke Marevi -h;.h, Etienne and space in motion figure of the awarenes chronophotographsof fi8ures noving-blurred and s€miabsrract pafterns-tvece the vieryoint of much ninet€€nth-cenrury Phoros'?Dhvvr : t hcywer nr d€'1 r he r 88os, no ar eabn not t oM ul E.i..; .,* r .,riu'ar"a visualsrudie of hrman movemcnt b:r ro the nodernnn ofDuchamp and RaY. The nineteenthcentuv sawa numb€rofdeliberatenaniPulations ofthe inage, but it is the twcnti€th.entury which seesthe rise of the manip a;d imag. proPer as Pait of a sustainedaesthetic'ofte' involvirg an actit, even aggmsive aPproach to the imag€ Ljke Dainten workins wirh the techniques of montage and collage' ohor oe, aphenhr .cut . r p r nd r enangeJbr ic r m : ger )r or or st r u'r r Thi nwnr r c. of pl o'o m onr "gei' di'Put ed r , "". i "rRao"l *. 's. Haus, 'n and lohn He"t t nr d' bur r t r ' r r qe{ect ibcr w. n Hoch\ C,t u;/h the CaAeKalfe (ryt9) Hannah which is significant Iu3l is ro edtyexanple.sA colageofd6Pdare material'this Presents a seriesof photographicimagesin a seriesof diff€lcnt PqsP*tivs bound bv omnon themes-Hoftver, it .annot be read in Iireral or ndatir; relms;nor canitbe reduc€dto rhe sun ofits Pdts The word DADA doninates, of course, and ihe d\ of g?eface and im'ge incrcasesrhe imPcsdon of fragmentation-Although indi'idu'l
in.g.: :rxrd out. ther can.or bc .nrde ro yicld thei. mean;ie \\,e .r.nor. ,s lln.r. cur rhe image Ui[h ir! frrgnenrc.i siru.ture ind underlring.mics m, ir reflecrsrhe mood in Eutupeone r.ar rfte. rhe cndoi d, c Fi. r t Ubr ldWar E'nersngi;on rhee{rcmisn of Dxdi.John H.riilieki Gser $.,61 produ.cri ort oi rhe mosr :usuined ,nLl ri.hesr bodl ot \,\url moniaee.thi..enn,r| Workngfronr r de.h.ed lcti u,insponrion, hc u.ed hi: :r,rgc! ro oiier in.reasingh ;iri.i.al crtriquâ&#x201A;Ź. of Nrzi Cer n, r nr :\ \ 'her e: . Hainah lloch r nd Rr or ! Hr usm a. n soLghtt o undeirnidetr,ern,nsthroughthe u:c oithc imrionrl. I ha(licld rscs rhe rbsu,d ud drc ILL\r{f'osing ofditrcrent clementsin ordc. ro deR.re and crpo:e. Hr perepective turns the p|oiogriph inro a blend ofthe
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political essarand the po[ii.al carioo. or cancrture .{j ju.h In the tradlrion of Hogarth and cilkN as i. ri"r oa hi! D,daijr conremporaries,He&rfield crearesa sooderirXr roren! li:ual . e ro r;. .,,... r.r1.," o .,,;.., " h ,.h J u r\..e e m.,\:,(o r,. ol irs chosentargei.Like the rhotographerEnyi. Btumenfeldrnd rhe ,rrj* Ceorge Grosz, he ses the imagcsnd iusr io bur to ridicule falsehoodsand polri.,l touer. Bur :lrhough -;t;.ize the .ol;t;.r hessagedominatesir cannotbe reducedro: sinstc.tie.: Hnttuh, theB,tt.t\ Finitua ibr eramplctrgljl 1r4t t! r..iren.pal He&tlield The tide (andrhe ier ai rhc boftom of rhc,fuger reitrs ro . o p e I b \ H e rn rr ti ,e | n c t,." " - i o .' .. t-,' , " .,...i " alrvaysmakesa counrrysffong,burter and lard ontr makepeoplei.t Against the absurdiryofrhn claim Heanield conniu.ts a wirheing sarireon iis inplicarions ifbe[eved. The moniage.rearesjts eR;.r thrcugh rbe ue of eraggeration.juraposiiion, rhc uk of rhe uncxpected,and lisual h)?erbole, bur slso rtrcugh a wondertul anentionto dettl which givesrhe message a r:ch ri;uJ densin:tn rhe a b e n c e o ' ,r" h u n e rrh e p " t.o r;. r,n h .;r.,. l . rn " .hb.;...,. a felst ofold iron objecrs,chains,5ike iiancr, quri. bolrs.The babr l --w ' o n D ri ro frro l d a \e ,rte J .:. .n.,e d r,or. i ,.,,o1. fl i acureaitenlion to deiail wnhour rcducingrhe cs:enrirt mcssase.ir basicto Hcarrfeldt approachHere, ior cxrmpte,hc iohpo!rd5 rht eiTectof the msl i. rclation ro rhc wa]lpapâ&#x201A;Źr(r!;th ,ts Drftern .a swasrikat and rhe porrrtr ot Hitler on rhe s,all, natchcd br rht L ' :U | J n l " d d | ti o a o l l h e e m b ro ra eredcu' hror.^' crl i othe. rhan Hindenberg.ThN is a faftilr of!arr;ot! indecd.{r or.. Lnitdnt and subde, this quinre$enriatHem6etd image rel,in: ir. etlect.ltsextreoerierpoinr ftovesbeyondrhâ&#x201A;Źto.icto adensjn rvhich pJ -.e r rr :r a J a n o ro r.l .o n r* r ofrhe kr.,d\vew ortd J, oc;r'ocr wnhJonarhanSsift and .r'lexanderPope Hearrfieldt ap!.oachhxsesrablished an importanrrnditbn ofthc photographic montage used trs poliricat saiire The densin and e.o ro m , o r h r. a p p ro ,.h h r. b p e nrol l ow pdbL t-e81., h.bo,o rr .Kennard.A consistendvtrenchanrreaderof ihe BrirNh scene.h,! Cn1;'eM rt;bt, made i^ ry9o, turns rhe lvagon in Cons tablej Th?]t.1 I/zn jnto a nissile launcher,aspa( of a protesrro t<eep crusc nissrte: out of England. Equally. hk D..fedet/ to D,art GrE,) stosr rhc excesesof the (rhen) dms lace betveen rhe US-\ and rhe L'SSR Kennardhasan incsivest)le,and i rerv nuch a confrontarion,tdisr. ashs recentRr;tzria work reveals: a stldrofrle m\ rh ofEnglantl rnd es!ablishment power lf the streDgthof such mo'tage is the;r jmmedirdl ;o lheir wealqe$ is the limired conrextin which rhevesrabhh thei. nea.ing and cffect. Other usesofthe montage(and coltagel rsrr from the ove.dv polirical and sariricaljn order ro sugeesrr
j
philosophical underpinrung to their vision, and offer delinitive ;h,ges of a penasivc condition associatedwith rwenrleth cenmry )ife. ln Europe much of this has been influenced by such philosophical movements as Exist€ntialism, and bv the work of Kalka :nd Freud. Herbert Bayer's(r9oo 8) LonelrM.bo?abzr Gq,) trtsl is suchu inage. Through irs play ofrhc unepected ard the absurdthis echieves a poeti. density,in which dark humou givesway to a visual equiv,lent ofa lrgcr condition:ennui,alienation,and looeline$withio an urban realiry Thus it plays upon a ldgcr symbolic significance ro creare a hauntinganddisquietingatnosphcre. In a similar nuncr, although to very diFerenr eods, tuchard Hamilton (rgrz- ) in his rg56fu'tuhat i' ir rtal hala /odat\ n.aa !. difrM|, tu a??ea/iag?lr!6) posesthe question in the tide asbasicto the meaningofthe inage. An obvioussatireon suburbia,thisextendsthe irony ofthe Americu photographerBill Owenson niddte clas lfe styles. Haniltof, exhauststhe signiGers, taking them to the limit of rheir efecq u .ffect so overthe-top as to reinvest them with cultural signiicance.Then; a rich playofthc banaland rhc blatant,bur all as put ofa critiqueofa way oflife, ofmental aft;ndes,notofa political subjectassuch.Th. humourbelicsrhe concernwith lone\aod empn
with the rvork ofle€ Friedlander livesofthe kod we would associatc and Di'ne Arbus, for etamPle. Heurfield, Kenn*d, Bavea and Hrmilton otr€r exmples ofrhe phorog ph u.ed to mrkc $P(,nl .rrrrik The vi'ual spacei5 nide devoredro puttins r'ro\s ! )rrirical ile rr;L of a .erie' or 'trateq,e" however'clerre rhetr effect rdd.oUrger) monrases me$?ee.Orhrr or d:fferente]'menrs without rogether .o-,ng [,o- ih. ,**p*r.d G ingo Hsawt \ ALj'u r m Jge of r he o, , . dinq anyobr o*. . *"q" one r s t ne ut qam Ple. or im r ge r uch an lor t li7i, "hm d anbiaa.l€otddd compld.lt bamesthe reade n selrcholanvnarntNe neanine.Unconnectedelenenrs,somephotogriphic,somenot, have beenasimbledin a randomgeonerrvandpresentrh€nreh* x afitol'iect, both in their oM terms (for they consh$re' accodtti, ^n .U;ct), and esthe objectof our see And this is ,t-^g", r'"*"* rhe po,nt. fo! h.rely phcing rwo obje.r or imrge" together{1<wrlh any r wo r vor dst , r cat est h. por cnt ir l f or m caning r nd I r er rc[tionship betweenreadcrand image-O,Jcrl is thus d Plar on the
in an individual;tate, natureofthe objectand mean;ns,for everv'thing, can be rccognized, md yet in the Pattern in which rhey ue presented thcy demand a no form of recognirion ed a new kind of anention. O/7?a nows us back into a thre.-dinensional world and rccalls us to rhe play bctwcen irmgc md object which is dF basis of the Fhotograph. AI is calculatcd, cchoing El Lisirukyi Th. Conlnstur while equaly lookjng toqards thc colg.s of the Arneri@ a'tist Robcrt Rauschenbcrg in the r95os, ud ro the concePtualgmes of JasperJohnsin thc sane decade.Ironically,the more we look at this ob.ject,the rnore it g.ins in meaning and significdcc Victor Burgin, a British-born phorographer,has playeda cenral role in the .ontempor.'y deElopncnt of this tndition As mu.h a critic as a photographer, hs Th;nAing PAaloqtuPh)lr98t which h€ the theontical aweness which informshr rvork edited,uodersco.es and semioticsfor ihe inplicationsoflinguistic theory Pr]choanalvsis, rhe way th€ image rnust be understood, in aI i$ conteats He cons.iouslymanipularesthe in,gc ac.ording to a declaftd critical .elationshipto thc Eader vhich is chdacr.lisric ofthe postmodem period. His ftferencesto Brechi end Benjmid suggesthis liame of reference. He denounccdthc notion of'momentsoftrurh's c?retta m)stification as the notion of autonomous creaouo'. Ofrre at NiShl, Na , Ge86)I5l .eflecrshis critical posirior. This is a doious inage which spe,kr to a postmodcmist self-consciousauareressof irs multiple terms of rcfercnce.The rigbt-hand side ofthe Photog.aph featuJesrhe inage ofa f€male ofice-worker at a fling cabinet. Behind s a secondfigurc, which we rccognia asraken Foh Edwa.d Hopper's painting Wd at Nieh. The sqdzed pasticheof Hopper'spainting esrablishesboth a ooint of contrast and a b;torical xnd social on the natureand conventionofthe oiicc as a pla:e of perspective .vork and cultural insriturioD.k also raises signincant questions concerningthe natureoftechdoiog and communicarion.The left hand side of rhe imagc otrersexamplesof an monlhous rypolog) asociared with th€ computer The file', like rhe figure, i;, in its nadirionalsense,now redundan!new sigiiliels havereplacedtheold, to caate a new realiry And yeq rhe imageasls,horvcan$c represent suchrealitiesin a visud form) The imageis, in shod, a Brechtixnessal oDphotographicmealingand its relationto 2largersigniiiogrroc*s. hi: rmage Although Burgin h6 abandonedany pretenceoi rea-ltsm, the strucmrcs and relarionships of the as much aboLrt exposes contemporaryworldasany documentary'photographcould. Burgin'sapproachn characicristicof nuch posrmodernimagen' which, ln manipulatingthe photograph,moveshevondrhe nraregies of politicrl satireand cdicature and usesrhe medium to aseri ns vatiditywhilst questioningits tems ofreference.Chr;tian Boltansk Ggaa ) is anotherworker;n this dea. Aotel] a$areof rhePracriceof
BolLJa. ki.hke Br r qin "<r r bl'h- r d, t r ncrc- 'r : 'r l r he phor oer uph, L t f a'd" h. . , - ge" V "t - . . p". " S. *- . *, a. , r d "1 't '. Thn insnllation aPProach ofhis s chdacreristic tri,,) G985)Irrsl chuse' r Le. m . r ses: r \ r ne$ r . d hc. ghr eneds. ; f r . , n. e A nJr beof phor oq, , ph.oi. t '; t d'. . h, vc oee, "t . ns'd ner ' f o l: ghr " o r hr no'". indeed.r he eF r 'uge'r I 'r - hedr - l ar d 'h; , . . ; dl. of ca"dles celebriring (and r.meftbering) the ildividu'ls series Bolransk thus createsd senseof.ituil beliel and ihe obotoeraDhed. whiht rr rhe srme rime que"ionins ihe i'*d tL '--d -d -l.b-re. strucrureswithin which rhe Yerl acr of PhotosrxPhl accruesstitus and neanirg. Ths insiall.rion extendr rhe ff;ticil concern of contemporaryphotographvto a nen seriousres:,nhilsr ilerting us n) rhe pre*xce oithe im!ge in its anthroPologicrltrs$eI asPsrthologica] €nd ofthe Fhotographrs a merns coni*ts. Rat;o thrn suggestingthe Burgin2nd Boltanskisnt ni newsignifiurce The ofrepresentation, h. Ph^t ogr Ph r hl . onr 'nu. o n r - r cr u r n t h' m anr p, ll; on r o r heqot l: n $hr ' h sr ph"r oEr ph r nd, F r elJr r on "r r engt h, . f t he Surealist lire. As the American PhotosraPher'Clarence lohn tome. is merel) r 'The ph\sca-lobjed 85) proclaioed: LaugirlinGgoi So drn'es subconscious world . of inner to ar .t"pping 'trn" for the mirorimage. then, much,