Richard Avedon's quote

 

"The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph, it is no longer a fact

but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs

are accurate. None of them is the truth." 

-Richard Avendon

There is a saying that a photo is worth a million words. It's more like you can use a million words to describe a photograph. Photography is a great tool for communication but depends heavenly on the viewers perceptions. Unlike new articles or programs there is usually  not a lot of background information along with images. The information is probably accessible but the likelihood of a viewer searching for it is fairly low. The photography of President Bush in New York city will remind people of the tragedy of nine eleven. But if I showed that photo to a middle schooler it's likely they’ll believe it to be someone working on a construction site. People have the ability to interpret photos in many ways.

The viewers perspective influences their understanding of meaning in photography. The same thing can be said about the photographer. Even before photoshop was invented artists had the power to manipulate the images to evoke specific emotions. Photographers choose what to include within the frame. They dictate the perspective of the viewer to what they want to show. Photography has the power to record events but that is not the same as showing facts. The sense of truth is connected with the power of belief. If someone believes in something that makes it true to them. Richard Avedon's quote expresses this mindset. Photography does not preserve a moment but transforms it. Art has alway weighed heavily on people's opinions. What is beautiful to one person may be rejected by another

 Photos do not show the truth but the opinions of the photographer.   

        This portrait by Arnold Newman reflects his opinion on his subject. He uses the camera angle and lighting techniques to frame the subject in an unflattering manner. This man is Alfred Krupp who was a German industrialist and nazi. Newman, who was a Jew, did not have a positive opinion on the man and used photography to express his emotions. Newman reveals his intent with this image an an interview with the New York Times and stated, “It was my impression of a Nazi who managed to survive yet killed millions of people, not all were Jews. They were doctors, they were laborers that were offensive to the Nazis. And I consider that one of my more important pictures.” He didn’t want the world to see Krupp as a successful steel manufacturer and instead show his own perspective. This portrait showed Newman's opinion on the man.  This photo is accurate to the photographer's perception of truth.

“Alfred Krupp, Essen Germany, 1963" by Arnold Newman.

(© Arnold Newman Properties/Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York/ Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles)

Silverman, Rena. “Examining Arnold Newman's Environmental Portraits.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Nov. 2018.