Celebrated in its early days for its ability to provide a faithful representation of reality, then criticized for being a mere reproduction, photography is both an objective medium and the most open to interpretation. And it is in this liminal space –between the ambitions of exactitude and the theory of montage– that photographic misunderstanding arises, i.e. the multiple meanings that an image can assume unconsciously or on purpose: this ambiguity is an integral part of the photographic language and depends on various factors, some of which are specific to the shot, such as framing, composition and context, while others which have nothing to do with the image and its author, as they depend on the relationship between the original intention of the picture and its unpredictable reception by the audience. Through a theoretical excursus of the image culture and by analyzing a series of iconic case studies from 1900 to the present day, this text explores the photographic misunderstanding –how an image can be understood differently and how its meaning changes over time– in order to understand the communicative value of photography as a form of graphic and visual representation, considering its historical, social and cultural aspects.
L'equivoco fotografico The Photographic Misunderstanding
Pierini J
2023
Abstract
Celebrated in its early days for its ability to provide a faithful representation of reality, then criticized for being a mere reproduction, photography is both an objective medium and the most open to interpretation. And it is in this liminal space –between the ambitions of exactitude and the theory of montage– that photographic misunderstanding arises, i.e. the multiple meanings that an image can assume unconsciously or on purpose: this ambiguity is an integral part of the photographic language and depends on various factors, some of which are specific to the shot, such as framing, composition and context, while others which have nothing to do with the image and its author, as they depend on the relationship between the original intention of the picture and its unpredictable reception by the audience. Through a theoretical excursus of the image culture and by analyzing a series of iconic case studies from 1900 to the present day, this text explores the photographic misunderstanding –how an image can be understood differently and how its meaning changes over time– in order to understand the communicative value of photography as a form of graphic and visual representation, considering its historical, social and cultural aspects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
