Something that I've been thinking about for a while now, is the ways in which a viewer studies a still image, and how s/he understands what is viewed. A title is often a handle a viewer can grasp to decode the image; but more usually the image lies somewhere beyond the realm of easily verbalised 'meanings'.
Which is why I found these images fascinating, because the use of the written word is central to the image itself. That both these images use languages I don't personally read or understand, does not make their use less powerful.
"Family Tree" (2001) © Zhang Huan.
Lalla Essaydi from "Converging Territories"No. 10
Just checked and saw that the Zhang Huan pictures were in the wrong order! No idea how that happened; apologies. Since I was restructuring that, I thought I may as well change the size of the Essaydi image.Images via (Notes on) Politics, Theory and Photography, a blog that I follow with great interest.
3 comments:
Have you seen Peter Greenaway's bizzarre (per usual) The Pillow Book? The "Family Tree" images immediately brought "The Pillow Book" to mind. If you haven't, tis available at Cinema P...
dear god.......the first picture is scary
Ludwig: no idea how i missed this comment. No, I haven't see Pillow Book (but I've seen Pillow Talk, with Rock Hudson...does that help? No...thought not). Will borrow adn see.
Szerelem: You should check out some of the other pictures on his site.
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