Introduction
People take photographs for various reasons. Some take photographs to capture memories but for others, photography may also be used as a tool to create a statement, capture a meaningful message, and raise awareness about certain issues that concern society. Taryn Simon, an American artist, uses photography for this purpose. Although Simon uses various mediums such as graphic design and texts, the artist primarily uses photography to raise awareness about important issues. In Simon’s The Innocents (2003), the artist’s docuseries and photography book, she sought to raise awareness about flaws in the justice system, particularly wrongful convictions. In the book, Simon underscored the role of photography as an arbiter of justice. Considering Simon’s work and views, the succeeding discussion will explore the rapport between her photographs in The Innocents and the text that tell stories about the subjects of the photographs. Throughout the discussion, concepts and ideas from Roland Barthes’ Camera Lucida and Walter Benjamin’s The Little History of Photography will be incorporated in the analysis of Simon’s work, and the synthesis will highlight shared ideas about photography reflected in The Innocents.
Analysis of Taryn Simon’s The Innocents
Taryn Simon’s The Innocents is a collection of photographs that tell stories about the subjects. The Innocents is more than a collection of photographs. The subjects of these photographs are individuals who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. At the core of The Innocents is the idea that wrongful convictions are the result of the victims or eyewitnesses’ erroneous identification of perpetrators (“The Innocents”). Police officers call on the victims or eyewitnesses to identify the perpetrator from the lineup or a series of photographs. One of the main problems with this method is that the victims or eyewitnesses’ memory is vulnerable to change. Existing research studies show that victims or eyewitnesses’ memories may be influenced by several factors, thus, leading them to wrongfully identify an individual as the suspect or perpetrator (McGrath & Turvey, 91).
Simon’s The Innocents raises awareness about wrongful convictions and underscores the impact of this on the lives of innocent people that were imprisoned. The accompanying text in each photography, according to Simon, helps in driving the point or message and grounding the image to its intended meaning (Simon). This is the reason why Simon focused on relating the subjects’ experiences. Aside from doing so, Simon also saw the importance of capturing the subjects in settings that relate to their wrongful convictions such as the site of the crime. Simon’s intention of capturing lived experiences aligns with Benjamin’s idea of photography as a means of capturing human activity (Benjamin, 508). Benjamin also highlighted the importance of accompanying texts and inscriptions in making photographs more powerful in conveying meaning (Benjamin, 513-514).
Simon’s work also reflects Barthes’ ideas about photography, particularly when it comes to capturing reality. According to Simon, her photography work is not merely the act of taking photographs. In Simon’s “Ted Talk”, the artist said that there is much work behind her photography. Photography for her goes beyond taking pictures because it entails in depth research, observation and understanding of social issues, and personal interaction with subjects (Simon). The most important point that Simon stressed during her “talk” is that her photographs capture reality because beyond the visual images, these photographs carry with them meaning in the form of real social issues or events, and lived experiences of subjects (Simon). In the case of The Innocents, Simon’s photographs carry the struggles and experiences of men who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. Furthermore, Simon also stressed that realities captured in photographs reflect different perspectives, from the intention of the artist to the perspective of the subject, and the context of the setting among others. This idea reflects Barthes’ view of photography. According to Barthes, the photography is an evidence that is loaded with extended meaning if seen from varying perspectives. It could reflect the artist’s modesty while also reflecting his or her subjective view of issues (Barthes, 115).
Conclusion
The foregoing discussion illustrates Simon’s intention as well as the concepts embedded in The Innocents as a tool that raises awareness about wrongful convictions. According to Simon, her photographs result from research and interactions with subjects, and ultimately her desire to capture reality and raise awareness about this important issue. In addition, Simon uses texts in her photographs to add meaning to the images. In The Innocents, Simon used photography to show injustice and flaws in the justice system by intending to capture reality in photographs and using texts to complement these images with meaningful stories.
Works Cited
Barthes, Roland & Howard, Richard (Translator). Camera Lucida. Hill & Wang, 2010.
Benjamin, Walter & Livingstone, Rodney (Translator). Little History of Photography. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
“The Innocents”. Taryn Simon. n.d. Web. 19 Jul 2015. <http://tarynsimon.com/works_innocents.php>
McGrath, Michael & Turvey, Brent E. “Eyewitness identification: Uncertainty, error, and miscarriages of justice.” In Brent E. Turvey & Craig M. Cooley’s Miscarriages of Justice: Actual Innocence, Forensic Evidence, and the Law. Sand Diego, CA: Academic Press, 2014.
Simon, Taryn. “Photographs of secret sites.” TED. Jul 2009. Web. 19 Jul 2015. <http://www.ted.com/talks/taryn_simon_photographs_secret_sites/transcript?language=en#t-60102>.
