Semiology and Images

Notes on Penn's, "Quantitative Research with...Image"

Here I am feeling out my first paper. Using Penn's prescription for photographic analysis, I plan to break down two images by denotation and references to their connotations, cultural and aesthetic. By doing so I am "investigating the workings of particular myth structures" (237). I plan to analyze the photographs using this method in order to gain a deeper, though possibly subjective, cultural understanding of the meanings behind the images. I am interested in how our cultural myths have shaped the images and how the images continue to reproduce those myths in modern times.
In reference to images 3 and 4 from my previous post...
#3
A denotational inventory:
Five women, nude, sitting, embracing themselves and each other, looking straight at the camera.
Four Caucasian, one Black.
In an empty corner of a room with white walls, wooden floors.

Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi. Hollywood 1989. By Herb Ritts.

Connotations:
The cultural knowledge needed to analyse this photo is that the women represented are international supermodels.This photo was taken by Herb Ritts, a well known celebrity portrait photographer.

The women are close, if not emotionally, at least physically enough for this pose.

The faces suggest a sensuality, with brooding eyes and pursed lips.

The pose is provocative in that it suggests femininity, sexuality, and yet hides the essential body parts related to those ideas.

In this image, each woman's face is important. Each one is clearly recognizable in its angle. The title of the image is nothing more than a list of the model's first names. This suggests that a face and a name are all the information necessary to appreciate these women.

The women in this image are reminiscent of the Vestal Virgins, women priests of the Roman Empire. These women were free of typical female social obligations, were given luxurious accommodations, and were responsible for maintaining the sacred fire belonging to the Emperor and in the service of the goddess of the home.

The Virgins too were known by their first names and images of their faces are shown in Roman sculpture and paintings.

Though the Vestal Virgins embodied feminine purity through their vows of celibacy and modest clothing, the supermodels embody current ideals of femininity through the exhibition of their bodies, while maintaining a sense of modesty in the pose.

The myth represented in this photo is that of the sacred feminine. The image recalls the classic ideal of women in their ability to use their sexuality (even if that is celibacy, for that is a root of conversation about feminine sexuality) as a means of gaining power and respect. This myth is relevant today in the narrative that places the supermodel in a position of authority in regards to feminine idealism.

#4
A denotational inventory:
Nine women and two babies, in traditional Amish dress, standing close together,
some looking down, some looking at a point out of the frame, one looking at the camera, the children's faces are hidden.
Looks of disdain or anger on the women's faces.
Set outside, unfocused location.

Amish Women in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania 1985. By David Turnley.

Connotations:
The cultural knowledge needed to analyze this photo is that these women are part of the Amish Mennonite religious and cultural community in Pennsylvania. To be a member of the Amish community is to abide by rules of code, conduct, and appearance. For women, this requires the dress seen in the image.

Traditionally, the Amish life is one of hard labor, in that work is done by hand, without modern conveniences such as machinery and electricity.

The women are familiar and comfortable with each other.This is seen in their physical closeness and likeness.

The women are unhappy. Their faces show expressions of anger or disdain, though the source of these feelings is unknown, as the object of focus is out of view.

It appears as though it is this frustration that binds them.

Some of the women's faces are obscured, and some are hidden completely. In this we see a value placed on coherence as a group as opposed to individuality.The title of the photograph is 'Amish Women in Pennsylvania'; again, suggesting the importance of the culture of the group and not of the individual women.

The image provokes ideas of traditional femininity in its depictions of modesty and child rearing, as well as the classic idea of women as prone to hysteria.

This image embodies centuries of tradition, including an adherence to custom and the choice of a lifestyle outside of the modern norm. The Amish woman's life is one of physical hardship and social containment. This image works to exemplify the difficulties inherent in their lifestyle, though not necessarily the only aspects they experience. In representing these women in this moment of despair, in their modest garb, and fulfilling their family duties (in child rearing), the image works to reproduce the stereotypes constructed by the societal majority and placed upon the women in this community.

Thinking more about the first project...

Overall theme: In these images, the "successful" are photographed in the midst of disaster or breaking taboos and either way they are glorified. However, those considered less successful are photographed in similar circumstances and the images convey a feeling of vulnerability and 'otherness'.
Image 1

Kathryn Hepburn among the rubble of the Great New England Hurricane, 1938.
Because of her wealth and social status, the actress is not only unaffected by the tragedy of the hurricane that destroyed everything around her, but she has the privilege of being able to pose for the photographer, ironically cheerful and with the frivolity of a bath and companion in this depressing scene. She represents the position of the elite and the cultural construction of their higher class and its invincibility.

Image 2

A man stands in front of his home in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans 2005. By Adrian Overstreet.
Because of his lack of wealth and status, the man is left to manage the destruction of his home in the wake of the disaster. He is pictured desperate and alone. His image represents of the plight of the poor and their vulnerability in times of need.

Image 3

Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi. Hollywood 1989. By Herb Ritts.
Women of privilege, that is, women who are socially recognized as beautiful, break taboos of what is it to be proper and homo-sensuality in this famous image. Because they are the American ideal, the nudity and looks of innocence are accepted as 'art' and the photographer is praised for his ability to capture these otherwise unattainable subjects.

Image 4

Amish women and children. Pennsylvania 1985. By David Turnley.
Women on the fringes of society, due to their religious and cultural choices, appear foreign in their own country. By not conforming to the American ideal of womanhood, they are 'poor', 'unfortunate', and 'homely'. Their faces portray the hardship of their lives.

Project 1 Images

1938
Katharine Hepburn on surviving the “Long Island Express” hurricane: “My God. It was something devastating—and unreal—like the beginning of the world—or the end of it—and I slogged and sloshed, crawled through ditches and hung on to keep going somehow—got drenched and bruised and scratched—completely bedraggled—finally got to where there was a working phone and called Dad.”
Photo and text via http://blackandwtf.tumblr.com/page/4.

1954
A passerby holds on to a tree for support as hurricane swept waves hammer the sea wall adjacent to the Belt Parkway near 72nd Street in Brooklyn. The New York area and the New Jersey coastline were battered by Hurricane Carol as heavy rains and fierce winds disrupted power lines, felled trees and tangled air and highway traffic.
Photo and text via http://blackandwtf.tumblr.com/page/4.

2005
A man stands next to what was the front wall of his waterfront home. The wall was ripped away when the force of the storm surge associated with Hurricane Katrina slammed a two-ton refrigerated container into the structure. Eight of his neighbors’ houses were also smashed by the floating two-ton home wrecker. Photograph by Adrian Overstreet, age 13.
Photo and text via http://www.portersvillerevivalgroup.org.

Thoughts:

*The historical interest in images of people in the context of natural disasters, hurricanes here in particular. Why are images of people in hurricanes taken/important? How are they used?

*The problem of intervention, or lack thereof. How do we deal with the image of the man hanging onto the tree? What was the gaze of the photographer before, during, and after he took this photo? What is the significance of the image of Katherine Hepburn, a famous actress, relaxing in a tub among the hurricane rubble?

*"Truth" in photography. Are these images accurate representations of the disasters? Of the people? What is the difference between the staged and unstaged shots?

*Photography as anesthetic; how do these images protect the viewer from the disaster and empower the viewer with the knowledge of it at the same time?

*"Art" photography vs. photojournalism. Are these images the creative expressions of the photographer or objective photojournalism?

Images as Anesthetics

A photograph may be visually beautiful yet say nothing about the reality of the object/environment/action being portrayed.
The image distances the viewer by objectifying the subject and creating a safe place for the violence to be seen.
Alienation, desensitization, and a second, more cold consciousness are the results of this need for a buffer, the photograph, in order to avoid sensory overload and psychological breakdown.

Paparazzi and the Construction of Cultural Ideals

Paparazzi photographs appeal to the voyeuristic eye. A glimpse into the candid, 'real life' of a celebrity makes us feel closer or more like them in their vulnerability.




Seeing an image of a female teen idol, a girl held in high regard for her beauty and success, in a scene such the opposite conjures up some contradicting reactions. Sympathy and repulsion, humor and tragedy, chaos and control. She's just like us.






Paparazzi photography also works to construct an ideal. Here, the beloved, widowed actress and her daughter from her late husband seem to carry on a normal life; one of leisure and happiness. They are so much bigger than us.

On "Green" Photography

Thinking of how a photograph can sell an idea, or even a lifestyle, this image represents the "Go Green" movement quite clearly. The hands raised around the tree conjure up images of a religious devotee in praise of an idol. The exaltation of the tree by the human hands suggests a sacred relationship between the two.

"Art" Photography and the Feminine Image

I did a simple Google image search using the key words 'art photography women'. I was shocked at all the sexually suggestive ways in which women were portrayed when paired with the word 'art'. I don't know what I expected.



The contrast and similarities between these two images is what struck me. The first so sensual and fetishistic, the second so bold and yet (uncharacteristically) feminine.



On the other hand, just compelling black and white images of beautiful women in different circumstances. The images provoke the question, are these women to be admired? Envied? Are they immodest, brave, feminine, or otherwise?