Article: The Great Empty, New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/23/world/coronavirus-great-empty.html
Hello everybody,
When I am looking at a picture, I am focusing on what I can see. I try to identify little details and their meanings. It is always fascinating to discover symbols, messages and highlights that are hidden and sometimes only visible when one looks at the picture for the second or third time. Does the same go for you?
Photographies are no exception in that matter. We take pictures on cameras, trying to freeze the moments we do not want to forget and keep forever. Elliott Erwitt, an American photographer once said:
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
I do agree with him. The way photographs capture a moment is unique and oftentimes quite different to the way we actually perceive the moment. The feelings of the moments come back each time we look at the picture and it can bring a smile on our face, even when the moment has happened years ago. The picture I chose for this week’s analysis is also a photograph that captures a special moment that indicates the connection between visuals and our feelings.
But let’s take it step by step. The first step of visual analysis is called the pre-iconographic phase. Here we look at what we can see in the picture and merely describe it. In the chosen photograph we can see a public square with an obelisk in the middle. The obelisk has a golden end and is surrounded by lanterns and street lights and something that looks like a roundabout. In the background we can see some cars, houses and trees. Two buildings are additionally standing out. On the left-hand side there are two steeples and right behind the obelisk on the right-hand side there is a big building with a golden dome. Moreover, there are two writings on the picture. One says: “Paris, March 18th” and the other is in the bottom right corner and says: “Andrea Montovani for the New York Times”.
Now that we have described the picture in detail, we will focus on what the picture shows to us. This step is called the iconographic phase. Now according to the writing we can conclude that the picture was taken in Paris. Combining this information with the depicted famous obelisk, we can assume that the public square is La Place de la Concorde. Therefore the photographer, who’s name is written on the photograph, took this picture of La Place de la Concorde regarding it facing the River bank of the Seine and Les Invalides (building with the golden dome) which are both seen in the background.
The last step is the icological phase, this is the step where we interpret what we see. Anybody, who has been to Paris might wonder, why the usually crowded, hectic and vivid place is empty and seems lifeless. The picture was taken on March 18. At this point Paris was under lockdown and the picture captures the consequences of social distancing and of people staying home. The places in the city that are characterised by the normal daily hustle are currently not used anymore as people have to stay 6 feet away from each other instead of pushing through crowds while rushing from appointment to appointment.
The picture was not taken randomly. The New York Times started a project called “The Great Empty”, where they collect pictures from public squares in Metropoles around the world during this exceptional time. Keeping that in mind, we can easily define the production and reception context of the photograph.
The New York Times sent out photographers to capture those rather unusual pictures of quiet public squares. This leads to a journalistic reception context of the picture. We see it in the newspaper. As the picture was created for the purpose of this project, it also has a journalistic production context. However, photographers are also artists who capture the moment and create this “art of observation” as Elliott Erwitt put it. This categorises a photograph in my eyes always also in the artistic production context. By covering the context of the picture we can get a hint for the meaning of the photograph. The project from the New York Times observes all these different hectic places now, in the time of social distancing and lock downs. Suddenly the places are no longer lively and crowded, but empty and quiet. We are not supposed to go out anymore. Therefore places of public gatherings are no longer in use. This creates a weird atmosphere and I have mixed feelings when I look at the picture. I have been to Paris before and seeing the Place de la Concorde empty gives me chills. It has a kind of apocalyptic feeling to it. But at the same time it is still this beautiful square in Paris, the architectural city and the absence of the people also gives us the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the place. This contrast between the dystopian character and the calm beauty is in my opinion a good representation of the things we are experiencing right now. On one side it is daunting to be trapped inside, not knowing what is coming or when the crisis is over. But on the other side we are finally slowing down and learning to live in the moment again. People have become obsessed with planning out every detail of the day and forgetting to take a break from time to time. Now we are forced to and we finally have time to do those projects we always wanted to do but never had time for. Michael Kimmelman wrote the introduction to the project. One sentence stood out to me: “They also remind us that beauty requires human interaction.” The emptiness in the picture and the way it occurs spooky to us is a reminder that we are social beings. I can only speak for myself but my friends are the thing I miss the most. Normally I would be on campus, hanging out with my friends, going out to cafés, having movie nights, going on hikes or traveling. I cannot wait to do all these things again which I took for granted before the crisis.
All those emotions I connect to this photograph depend on me and the way I feel. In two years people might look at the picture and think it is a picture of Paris that a tourist took. Our perceptions of pictures generally depend on our personal connections to the content, experiences and mood and our awareness of the context the picture was taken in. In the words of Elliott Erwitt photography is the “art of observation”. Observation is a personal thing everyone does for themselves and is followed by a personal judgement on the things we see. This bond that is then created to the picture sticks for a long time and this is the reason why visuals have such a big effect on us. We cannot unsee a picture. From now on, when I hear about Paris or the Place de la Concorde, I will probably simultaneously also think about this image, the emptiness and the unique circumstances. This is also the reason why our media uses visuals in abundance. They have a greater effect on us than plain words.
Think about all of that while you stay healthy and safe!
Paulina
Kommentare