In the book by Juliet Hacking, "Photography: The Whole Story" one can read almost the entire history of any and all forms of photography. It is lined with many photos as well as explanations and snippets of how this form of photography effected the times and people of its day.
Going through the chapters there are certain pictures that just pop out to the eye. Different ones will affect different people, of course. So the pictures that I seem to pause at, others may just keep on flipping by, which is the beauty of photography. Why is that?
Roland Barthes, a French philosopher coined and explained the terms "studium" and "punctum" to explain why that could be in the his novel, "Camera Lucida." He defines studium as "application to a thing, taste for someone, a kind of general, enthusiastic commitment, of course, but without special acuity" (p. 26). This mean that we have an interest in a photo, a general one. We like what we see. Something draws us to that picture and we want to look at it. He goes on to state that punctum is "sting, speck, cut, little hole-and also a cast of the dice. A photograph's punctum is that accident which pricks me (but also bruises me, is poignant to me)" (p. 27). It is the one small aspect of a photo we can't take our eye off of. It's something in the picture that just does not fit in with the rest of it. Our eyes linger there far longer than the actual picture itself and we make up explanations as to why this is.
For example, one picture in Hacking's "Photography: The Whole Story" is "Natalie Paine in Claire McCardell Swimwear" by Louise Dahl-Wolfe. It was taken in 1950 and it is one of the photographs that stood out to me.
Going through the chapters there are certain pictures that just pop out to the eye. Different ones will affect different people, of course. So the pictures that I seem to pause at, others may just keep on flipping by, which is the beauty of photography. Why is that?
Roland Barthes, a French philosopher coined and explained the terms "studium" and "punctum" to explain why that could be in the his novel, "Camera Lucida." He defines studium as "application to a thing, taste for someone, a kind of general, enthusiastic commitment, of course, but without special acuity" (p. 26). This mean that we have an interest in a photo, a general one. We like what we see. Something draws us to that picture and we want to look at it. He goes on to state that punctum is "sting, speck, cut, little hole-and also a cast of the dice. A photograph's punctum is that accident which pricks me (but also bruises me, is poignant to me)" (p. 27). It is the one small aspect of a photo we can't take our eye off of. It's something in the picture that just does not fit in with the rest of it. Our eyes linger there far longer than the actual picture itself and we make up explanations as to why this is.
For example, one picture in Hacking's "Photography: The Whole Story" is "Natalie Paine in Claire McCardell Swimwear" by Louise Dahl-Wolfe. It was taken in 1950 and it is one of the photographs that stood out to me.
The studium for me is the whole picture. In this time of crazy winter on the East Coast, laying out in the sun just really calls to me. As much as I enjoy the snow, I've had enough of it. Give me the summer sun. This picture is how I want to feel at them moment, which is why I enjoy the picture. The punctum in this photo for me is the star on the map. Why is it there? What does it mean? Why is it in the middle of nowhere on a map? It doesn't fit in this picture. It is a middle point of a triangle of Natalie Paine's (the subject) head and the basket flowers. My eye is drawn to it and had it not been in this picture, only a general appreciation of this photo would be there for me. Because it is in the photo, this picture has more of an effect on me. I want to know the significance of the star and I want to know why it's a star and not a circle. There are so many questions to be asked of it.
Works Cited:
Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. New York: Hill and Wang, 1981. Print.
Hacking, Juliet. Photography: The Whole Story. Munich: Prestel, 2012. Print.
Natalie Paines in Claire McCardell Swimwear. 1950. Photograph. Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. Wordpress. Pleasurephoto. Web.
Works Cited:
Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography. New York: Hill and Wang, 1981. Print.
Hacking, Juliet. Photography: The Whole Story. Munich: Prestel, 2012. Print.
Natalie Paines in Claire McCardell Swimwear. 1950. Photograph. Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. Wordpress. Pleasurephoto. Web.