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noitsjustnate 's review for:
Regarding the Pain of Others
by Susan Sontag
Sontag is a succinct writer and in this short book covers several provocations on photography and war. Answering questions like: how is the field of photography different from film, art, dance, etc? What’s the relation of amateur work to professional work, and why is some prioritized over others? What is a photo? Her views are applicable to many contemporary events as well as the broader relation of western culture to oppressed states around the world and their respective representations in media.
As someone interested in photography, this is a must read; and there are so many ideas in this book that I have yet to consider, and those ideas pervade most of our daily lives- news reels, cameras, social media, political campaigns, advertisements, protests, the list goes on. In all there’s at least something to be gained from reading Susan Sontag’s book (and I’m sure the precursor, On Photography, is equally provocative).
Photography is relevant to history because-as Sontag deconstructs- most people learn history and experience historic events through images and digital reconstructions. History textbooks and renaissance artists alike use images to describe these events in accessible ways, but we have to be critical and understanding of the roles these representations have played over the years. I think this book is a great summary of how we can start to be more critical of said images. Photos as well as videos and television broadcasts also play a role in the justice system: the ubiquitous presence and democratic dispersal of phone cameras have impacted the last decades protest movements and mobilized populations, as we get more exposed to violence we also get access to violent images that we’ve never seen before. Despite apathy or perceived insensitivity a lot of these new representations break through.
Her arguments also play a role in contemporary art gallery design and memorial design, as in most of the book she breaks down the relation of pain and sympathy relative to tragedies. At times her ideas have literally shaped art exhibitions. The argument of objectification through image representation is furthered by the likes of Hito Steyerl and Thomas Hirschorn, a few of the artists arguing that image *resolution* adds another variable to Sontag’s concept. Hirschorn’s “The Purple Line” is a brilliant physical construction of Sontag’s ideas, adding the aspect of consent to image hyper-circulation. Steyerl’s “the Wretched of the Screen” is a must.
As someone interested in photography, this is a must read; and there are so many ideas in this book that I have yet to consider, and those ideas pervade most of our daily lives- news reels, cameras, social media, political campaigns, advertisements, protests, the list goes on. In all there’s at least something to be gained from reading Susan Sontag’s book (and I’m sure the precursor, On Photography, is equally provocative).
Photography is relevant to history because-as Sontag deconstructs- most people learn history and experience historic events through images and digital reconstructions. History textbooks and renaissance artists alike use images to describe these events in accessible ways, but we have to be critical and understanding of the roles these representations have played over the years. I think this book is a great summary of how we can start to be more critical of said images. Photos as well as videos and television broadcasts also play a role in the justice system: the ubiquitous presence and democratic dispersal of phone cameras have impacted the last decades protest movements and mobilized populations, as we get more exposed to violence we also get access to violent images that we’ve never seen before. Despite apathy or perceived insensitivity a lot of these new representations break through.
Her arguments also play a role in contemporary art gallery design and memorial design, as in most of the book she breaks down the relation of pain and sympathy relative to tragedies. At times her ideas have literally shaped art exhibitions. The argument of objectification through image representation is furthered by the likes of Hito Steyerl and Thomas Hirschorn, a few of the artists arguing that image *resolution* adds another variable to Sontag’s concept. Hirschorn’s “The Purple Line” is a brilliant physical construction of Sontag’s ideas, adding the aspect of consent to image hyper-circulation. Steyerl’s “the Wretched of the Screen” is a must.