Simon Norfolk is one of my favorite contemporary photographers, I like the nuance in his work, the way he shows things that are not there. Take the example above, a first glance its just a staircase, but when you learn the story and contexts behind the image its true impact becomes apparent. This staircase is in a concentration camp in Auschwitz, Germany, leading what used to be a gas chamber and the worn down staircase shows the hundreds of thousands of people who walked up it to their deaths. The image below looks like a river of blood in the snow but is actually pollution from a factory. I think its a powerful metaphor for the fragile nature of our environment.
Tags: auschwitz, environment, nuance, Photography, simon norfolk
June 27, 2008 at 8:41 pm |
Your blog raises an interesting question – can an image be a great photograph if it requires additional information, to give it its full meaning?
June 27, 2008 at 10:53 pm |
An interesting point, I’d have to say it depends on the image. Sometimes if your given all the information in the image it because banal, I think the best images work on a number of levels, both individually and in context. What do you think?
There’s different elements that make an image really stand out. Check out Roland Barthe’s ideas on Studium and Punctum from his book Camera Lucidia (I’ll be putting up a post on it soon), he tries to pin down way certain images jump out at him, really interesting stuff.
Thanks for all your comments and continued support!!