Photography in Different Places

The exhibition catalog from a photography exhibition called The View From Here offered an interesting analysis both of the exhibition and of the photos in the exhibition. The View From Here was an exhibition that featured recently taken photos from both the Midwest region of the United States and from Central Europe, specifically Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The author of the essay in the exhibition catalog acknowledges that these two areas are quite different, but points out that photographs taken from the two regions focus on the place that the photo was taken and make statements regarding that place. The essay says “…each artist shows something about his or her world that the viewer would not have known, and likely not have seen before” (14). The author also stresses the importance of place in a photograph, because photos are so strongly linked to where they were taken. I agree that the location of a photograph is very important in deducing a photo’s meaning—knowing where something was taken almost always puts it in context for viewers and helps them understand the photographer’s message. Also, many photographs make statements about their settings, and when this is the case, the photo enhances a viewer’s knowledge of the photo’s subject. From personal experience, I know that looking at photos with a message about a place can do much more than let you know what something looks like physically—it can tell you about the culture, social issues, and people of an area.
One artist in the exhibition whose work I found particularly interesting was Paul Shambroom. His photos in the exhibition were taken of town meetings in the rural towns of the Midwest United States. In taking these photographs, Shambroom wanted to explore how these small towns are governed. Shambroom, who is quoted in the essay, says, “Seating arrangements, clothing and body language all provide clues to local cultural traits and political dynamics” (21). Before I read this quote and gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of his photographs, I found his photos interesting to look at because they revealed a rural world that I had never experienced. The people in the photos are sitting around meeting tables, either discussing amongst themselves or staring into the camera, and I thought it was fascinating to compare their varied expressions, postures and mannerisms. After reading Shambroom’s quote, however, I began thinking about which people in the photos had the power to rule their towns, and which were less powerful. Perhaps the people who sat up straight, visibly gesticulated their ideas with their hands, and engaged in conversation were the citizens who made the town’s decisions, while those who slouched and stared into space were the people who followed the lead of others in regard to their town’s decisions.
I was glad to have read the essay in The View From Here’s exhibition catalog, because it made me think more about how photographs can reflect and show a location to viewers. Also, the insights on the photos in the exhibition really helped me understand the meaning of the photos and the messages that the artists wanted to convey. These insights helped convince me that photographers really do take photos with a statement in mind, and not just to show a scene to someone else.

Work Cited:

Evans, Catherine. “Being Here.” The View From Here. Ed. Robert Stearns. Minneapolis: Arts Midwest, 2002. 14-23.

*I wanted to underline "The View From Here" in my post and my citation, but blogger wouldn't let me. Also, I wanted to indent the second line of my citation, but blogger wouldn't let me do that either.