OUGD501: Lecture, Censorship and truth

Censorship and truth

Rendering truth. Ansel Adams, quite stereotypical. Written at length about the moon and the light it produced.

Going by the dates, long time before digital photography. The digital practice opened up gates to manipulation.

Slight difference, processing film in different ways to dramatically change the image.

First manipulation of images.

Image manipulated for political benefit

This is done without digital technology, manipulating photographs to document a one sided truth.

Manipulating images to question what advertising does, does it tell the truth.

Photoshoped used to manipulate the way in which we see celebrities in the media. Is there a problem with manipulating images to sell things in the media.

Newspaper manipulated photo of soldier to manipulate the truth.

Idea of truth goes back to this point. Not called Robert Capa, was thought he was American but was actually eastern European. Questions the image, is it real or set up and does it matter if its communicating a message. A suitcase was found with Robert Capa’s negatives, images showing the circumstances of the soldiers death were found, the image was real.

Description very poetic, paints a persuasive image.

Postmodern thinking, writes about representation in the post modern era.

Peter Turnley’s work was exhibited world wide. Talks about photographers in the first world war being controlled by the forces and government. Representing the truth of war.

Talks about scenes of carnage he photographed and wasn’t allowed to show them.

His images represent the truth of war, nothing controlled, showing the consequences and the horror of what war actually produces.

The images he shows in his exhibit were very distressing,

It’s not a war as we know it in the media. The media covered is manipulated to give us one specific view and opinion. The Gulf War started at a specific time so it was the right time for the media to cover it.

What truth do we want to be shown, the real truth, or the truth from the comfort of our arm chairs.

Are we looking at stereotypical landscape shot, with the acception of tanks, or we viewing the battle of war.

Censorship in advertising goes back a long way. Sexual ambiguity. More about the observer than the picture.

Does it say more about the individuals are there mind set or the image.

Questioning notion of racism. Top right is a man dying of AIDS, looking like dying Jesus.

Something uncomfortable about it, sexual suggestive.

Nudity discussed at some length, in art and photography. This image, famous for the scenario, the foot in the image was used in the money python sketch. This is deemed highly acceptable because it is known for its modern culture, and social culture. This image is free to look at in art museums. The images represents incest. Because acceptable when its put in an art gallery.