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@ punctum
2023-08-06 10:51:33Reportage and opinion photography is a complex and multifaceted art form that encompasses a broad range of approaches and styles. It can be understood as a statement or a suggestion, an interpretation of the world around us through the lens of a camera.
If we consider that any photograph is a selected and parcelled snapshot of the photographable universe, then it's reasonable to think of photography as a mirror, a reflection of ourselves in relation to the world around us. The captured image can reveal as much about the photographed subject as it does about the photographer, unveiling their perceptions and feelings about reality.
Within documentary photography, there are two predominant ways of selecting what will be photographed, two attitudes that reflect different world views. The first is the "decisive statement," where the photographer clearly points out certain moments considered decisive for their interpretation of the facts. This attitude focuses on significant moments and events, selected for their relevance and their potential to convey an opinion about life.
The second attitude is one of "suggestion" or insinuation. Here, the photographer leans towards moments and situations that seem inconsequential, with the intention of conveying to the viewer a suggestion rather than a clear statement of reality. Rather than highlighting decisive moments, this approach seeks to capture the essence of everyday life, the details that often go unnoticed but can reveal much about human nature and the world in which we live.
Robert Frank, The Americans.A notable example of this approach is Robert Frank, who in the 1950s distinguished himself by rejecting the concept of the decisive moment in reportage. Frank criticized Cartier Bresson, claiming that the latter was more interested in formal beauty and composition than in the true emotional impact. Frank defended the idea that any moment could be decisive, a revolutionary idea that contradicted the traditional notion of the decisive moment.
Cartier-BressonAuthors who practice the reportage of suggestion focus on inconsequential and non-central moments of a situation. Their choice of what to capture and how to do it differs significantly from those photographers who seek the decisive moment. Instead of focusing on the main events of a story, these photographers give prominence to scenes and moments that others might discard due to their apparent argumentative banality and formal inconsistency.
These photographers often seek an existential experience rather than an audience. They are not interested in popular acceptance, but in exploring and understanding their own experience of life. Many of them photographed from "within," using their own biography as raw material for their images.
The use of artifacts, such as grain, blur, moving images, use of poor cameras, disjointed frames, etc., not only does not pose a problem, but is sometimes desired. These artifacts function as poetic imprints on the image, suggesting that if life can be confusing, it can also be represented that way.
Nan GoldinSome contemporary photographers who follow this approach include Nan Goldin, Corinne Day, and Natacha Merritt. Like their predecessors, these photographers explore personal and private topics with relentless honesty, bringing taboo topics to light and seeking themselves through photography. Although their approach is personal, their ultimate goal is to capture universal feelings of love, friendship, pain, and sadness. Their work stands in opposition to traditional journalistic reportage, offering a unique and deeply personal vision of life.