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John Berger's Interest In Photography

1379 Words6 Pages

In today’s world, photography exists virtually in almost every area of human activity. Every year, millions of photographic images are being made, not only by amateur photographers, but also photographers in industry, commerce, science, entertainment, medicine, publishing and in many other fields, for various of functions.

With the ability to capture and reproduce an image of a particular object or moment in time, the camera evolved from a tool of experimentation in image making to playing an important role in documenting pieces of history as it captures not only objects, but also people and events. These images were pivotal especially in the area of photojournalism as it freezes a moment in time, provided a record and evidence of the event …show more content…

The authenticity or the “truth” represented from a photograph does not always stand by on its own without being altered by different perspectives. How the photograph is being used or perceived by the photographer, the viewer and even by the photographed may have varied interpretation or understanding to the image. The status and use of a photograph changes according to the viewer’s relation with the subject or circumstances. For instance, a portrait of a family member might be of interest to social historians, not because of personal familiarity, but as evidence of clothing and furniture from the period and place. Photographs often do not activate individual memory directly, but operate through soliciting identification with needs, desires and …show more content…

With the easy access to digital cameras, everyone or anybody can claim to be a photographer and this has made photography perhaps one of the most popular choice of medium of art today. Yet within the contemporary art scene, artists have increasingly attempt to push and extend the possibilities of the photographic medium beyond the ordinary snapshot. Through stretching the other dimensions of photography, the “truth” and “reality” is deconstructed and reconstructed in the images to be represented and reinterpreted.

Charlotte Cotton describes in her book “The Photography as Contemporary Art” (2004), eight categories or themes, which contemporary art photographs can fall under. These categories do not determine the definition of contemporary art photography but it foregrounds the ideas that is considered for the visual

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