Each and every piece of art is being connected to some particular period of history: to its key events, to its main personalities. The appearance of the photography has made the artists’ reactions onto some particular events even more intense, as it gave them much more freedom for the creation. Nowadays, one of such key issues of the modern world is the terrorism and each artist sees this issue differently, putting his or hers own sense in it. What do pictures tell the viewer? First of all, they teach to think and to try to find some hidden elements that lead to the answer. Of course, each and every piece of art creates a culture: in a fragmented, episodic or emblematic way, it helps us to explore contemporary culture, its concerns. (Evans 334) In this case, such artwork is photography. According to John Berger, the true content of the photography is invisible, it only deals with time. (Berger 256) That is why the photograph is rapidly different from the motion film, for example, as it has its own montage. (Michaud 404) According to it, before discussing the topic, we should specify some key elements or features of the photograph. It has to be informative and content exactitude – an avocation of clear and visible images. (Calvino 55) Some of the photographs, put into the logical order, concerning their contents, are going to be discussed in this paper.
The first artwork by Agnes Varnai represents a pair of leather shoes with huge glass teeth on their tops. What feeling or emotion does this picture shows the viewer? It shows
aggression. It represents a hungry and blind aggression, which is spreading all over as the person tries on these shoes. Of course, there is no doubt that as we may look at this photo, we may notice artists attempt to pass onto the viewer an image of fierce, that is meant to damage. It is highly harmful fierce and all key elements are proving this statement: huge sharp teeth, like of the beast. The tops of the shoes are ripped and slightly opened with those teeth inside, representing hunger – the hunger for power, aggressive hunger, the hunger for damaging. The photographer has managed to pass onto the viewer that special hidden sense, tightly connected with the modernity – how many people are deciding to walk in those shoes, in order to deal with some particular issues using the peaceful way. Looking from the perspective of the terrorism – the symbolism of the picture is evident – it is to show, how this issue consequently spreads around the world. Those teeth are glass, which represents that this aggression is not eternal: it does not have its real strength and will crush against the first rock of goodness, sincerity and peace.
The second picture by Raf Simons tells us that the artist was keeping people in mind, while creating this picture. What feeling or emotion does this picture awakes in the viewer in this case? On the one hand it represents a hopeless and depressed condition of the people’s minds. On the other hand, the presence of the small river that flows between hills and mountains shows us that even bad times are coming to the end. The artist tells us that, as the time flows, the dark periods of our lives are flowing away too. However, this picture awakes in our imagination an image of the person, who is drowning in the external world, in everything, that is happening around. This picture awakes in our imaginations the image of the face, covered with hands – a typical pose of the depressed person, who has lost any hope. It is worth mentioning that from the professional point of view this photograph was completed according to the established rules: the main object is centered and grabs the attention to its
small details because of the dark background. The more you look at it – the more you see. This is a strong photograph, which makes its viewers think, using their imagination.
On the third piece of art by Jaime Martinez we may see two female hands and the valley with a spring river on the back ground with a sun reflection on the water surface. From the first sight, the photo looks like it was created with the usage of the X-ray effect. Indeed, the dominant colors here are blue and violet. To what thoughts does this photo bring us? The main sense of the photo is that it is an evident cry for help. Two female hands rose up, as symbol of the drowning person. Somebody really needs a help, he or she cannot deal with it by themselves any more. However, as we may clearly notice, hands are not stiff – they are relaxed, as a symbol of the powerless. Also, there is another key element on this picture – the sun reflection on the water surface, which represents a hope as a miracle. Here comes another key element of the picture – the sky full of heavy clouds. There is no sun, but there is its reflection on the surface. It brings us to the mind that, when a person becomes powerless – the only thing he or she can do is to hope for the miracle. From the professional point of view, the whole composition the photograph be more informative and exactitude, while providing the key information.
The next artwork also by Raf Simons represents us a photo of a young man with his eyes sealed with tape. This picture also has its own hidden deep sense and a tight connection to our lives. It brings up the image of the kidnapping, when somebody is taking someone else away, closing his or hers eyes. This picture brings us a feeling of fear: if we take away the tape, trying to look around – somebody will kill us for that. It represents a rough attitude towards people, who are not allowed to know the truth. They are threatened to be killed. It is a life full of fear. The main purpose of the photo is to show that the youth is usually more
compliant, in terms of persuading or threatening. In the modern life, youth has always been a target audience for those, who will to rule the world, as young people are representing a brand new generation with a pure minds. Again, the dominant color of the photo is blue; it also looks like it was created with the usage of the X-ray effect. In this case, the blue color gives an idea of the frozen world because of the fear of being murdered.
On the fifth photo, made by Andrea MastrovitoIl Martirio, are depicted two boys and one of them has murdered another beheading him. Again, what feelings or emotions does this photo awake in the viewer? Of course, it is a feeling of murder. Taking to the consideration the latest events in the political world, the interpretation of the photograph could be the following: the Islamic state and the cruelness they bring into the world. As we may also notice the beheaded person has no chains or any other things that could indicate on his bounded will. It is a symbol of persuasion, maybe even of fanatic attitude towards something. The man with the sword has cut the whole picture through, up another man’s head. This key element is a symbol of damaging somebody’s inner world and the world around us by using the weapon. Here is an evident contrast of the grey color and the red one. In this case, the red color represents the cruelty and blood from the murders. The grey color represents the existing without life, the damaging of the world. The artist has managed to pass onto viewers his or hers own point of view: when somebody kills someone – this terrible event is standing out rapidly from the whole world. That is why the trace from the sword is red - the interrupted life, the broken world.
The next photograph shows us burning men, running all around in the fear of death and being burnt. This is highly dynamic picture, as the movement here is one of the key elements. The fire represents here a death, something that burns out everything we have to the
slightest atom. People are running, hoping to find some rescue – it is another key element of the picture. The only way to be rescued is to find water. According to the information mentioned above – what does it all tells us about? It tells us about aggression and calmness, about evil and goodness, about war and peace, about death and life. People are panicking. They are in rush. The same happens in the real – life world, when the war any other threat comes. Again, taking to the consideration the latest situation in the world that appeared within three decades – this picture may represent the humanity under the threat of the terrorism: we do not see anyone, who set them all on fire, but see the consequences, just like in the real life. It also represents a chaos, caused by war; an anger that takes control over people during such tough times; the loss of the control; even the cannibalism.
The next photograph, made by Lina Scheynius, shows us a young woman, dancing all around in the long red cape. From the professional point of view, we see a mannequin, a model, with historical invisibility, but whose job is to be visible. (Evans 400) From the aesthetical point of view, we see her movements are easy and flawless, like she is trying to fly away, to run from something. Taking to the consideration the way her cape moves, creating the sense of the wind’s presence – her figure seems to be oversized. The woman does not seem to express any emotions on her face. From the first sight she looks absolutely insane; she has totally lost her mind from the reality around her. She has merged with the air. She is a symbol of a soul, a symbol of the last dance of life. It shows the viewers a desperate running from the possible threat. The spotlight is directed on the woman and it seems to be following her, wherever she goes. The hidden symbolism of this element is in attempt to tell us that wherever we go or whatever we do – somebody is always watching us; that we are at the gunpoint and there is no rescue from it. This photograph tells its viewers that, basically, our freedom is only an illusion and all we can do – is to hide in our personal, inner worlds.
The next photograph is more than symbolic, as well as more then realistic at the same time. A woman is trying to suck her head into the vacuum cleaner, not willing to see and to know this world around her anymore. Again, what feeling or emotion does this picture awake in the viewer in this case? It shows us a personal inner struggle: to stay and exist or to die. However, the photograph represents the statement that to live is no better than to die. With her hair being sucked into the vacuum cleaner, the woman is blind, as she does not see anything, what is happening around her. This situation is also tightly related to the modern times – sometimes situations are getting so absurd, so intense that the only way is to run away from it, using various ways. Also, it represents the fact that people are becoming blind because of themselves. For such people, there is no difference between staying alive and die anymore. Also, this photo represents a natural desire of the whole humanity to run away from the reality around us, when it gets more intense. The photograph’s exposition shows an absence of the will.
The next picture, made by Christian Schad, is making the circle of the images more complete in terms of its cognitive purpose and effect, which it causes on the viewer. It depicts a skinny young man. His body more looks like a skeleton, covered with skin. He looks tired and lifeless. The biggest impact this picture causes through the eye contact, which this man makes with the viewers. It seems like he is looking deep inside of a soul, trying to warn, saying: “Look, what they have done to me.” This photo depicts a man without hope; he does not believe that he will be rescued. He is hungry, hungry for life. Talking from the philosophical point of view, this picture may represent somebody’s personal jail. He is a prisoner: he tortures himself for some particular crimes that only he knows, or, maybe, he has become someone else’s prisoner against his will, a captive. Taking to the consideration the current intense political situation in the world, this man has become a prisoner of the political
system that he is not able to change and he realizes it. What feelings does this picture awake in us? It is a feeling of the lost life.
The last but not the least is the photo, made by Berlinde De Bruyckere. It is completing the circle of the pictures in terms of its sense. It has similar exposition with the previous picture of the skinny man, but has much stronger impact, which it is causing on the viewer. It represents a human skin, tear off the living body. It looks absolutely hopeless, as it is lifeless. It represents the last stage of the war, of the hostility, or any other cataclysm. The skin, which hangs on the hook – what message does the author want to send us by this? Probably, it depicts the humanity, hung on the hook of the politics, which slowly kills us. Again, taking to the consideration the current political situation in the world, this picture may also represent the situation, which appears after cataclysms. It shows us, what does the war, the terroristic attacks leave: people are losing their minds, they are losing themselves. It represents a ghost of the whole humanity. If the term “ghost”, in terms of the soul, is something spiritual, in this case – this absolutely physical ghost, a trace of the death. What feeling does this picture awake in its viewer? It awakes fear and disgust.
As a conclusion, it is important to mention that all of the pictures had been put into the logical order, according to the stages of any cataclysm, in this case terrorism. First of all goes anger, then depression, a fear to be killed, the murder, the terrorism as an action, the madness, a hunger and finally goes death. From the professional point of view, it is important to mention that the represented images are containing key elements: they are informative and content exactitude. All of the represented pictures of this particular circle make the viewer think, they stimulate cognitive, associative and observational skills of the viewer; they awake the imagination, and they awake the conscious.
Works cited:
Berger, John, and Geoff Dyer. Understanding a Photograph. Penguin, 2013. Print.
Calvino, Italo. Six Memos for the next Millennium. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1988. Print.
Evans, Caroline. Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity and Deathliness. New Haven: Yale UP, 2007. Print.
Evans, Caroline. The Mechanical Smile: Modernism and the First Fashion Shows in France and America 1900-1929. Yale UP, 2013. Print.
Michaud, Philippe-Alain. Aby Warburg and the Image in Motion. New York: Zone, 2004. Print.
