In his book Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes analyzes photography in terms of two concepts: studium and punctum. Studium is what causes an detached intellectual interest in you of the photograph, what you can learn from it, the time period etc. Punctum is the personal emotional reaction you have to the image or a detail in the image. I found his analysis pretty interesting, since he focuses on the primary importance of the personal and individual emotional impact a detail or details in an image has, a private emotional reaction and journey that one take's oneself from the photograph, from which derives the true meaning of what is depicted in the image - it cannot be universalized since each identity is a particular and not reduceable to an image or representation.
This photo personally interests me in an intellectual way as well as caused an emotional reaction.
Perhaps one reason why this image is interesting is because it was taken in 1931, thus the details, objects, are all nostalgic and representative of the time period.
However the detail that "pricks" me in particular is the kid's shoes - they look very old fashioned and working class, and bring to forefront the time period in question, and show their age and time. It makes me wonder if this boy is still alive, what happened to him since the picture was taken, and imagine what adventures may have transpired in his life.
Do you have an image that pricks you in a particular way? While it may not apply to others, the emotional reaction of an image is personal and what Barthes argues, are what separate the deluge of objective images that one studies with detached interest until one comes across an important image to oneself that touches you in some way.
Ernest by André Kertész taken in 1931.
This photo personally interests me in an intellectual way as well as caused an emotional reaction.
Perhaps one reason why this image is interesting is because it was taken in 1931, thus the details, objects, are all nostalgic and representative of the time period.
However the detail that "pricks" me in particular is the kid's shoes - they look very old fashioned and working class, and bring to forefront the time period in question, and show their age and time. It makes me wonder if this boy is still alive, what happened to him since the picture was taken, and imagine what adventures may have transpired in his life.
Do you have an image that pricks you in a particular way? While it may not apply to others, the emotional reaction of an image is personal and what Barthes argues, are what separate the deluge of objective images that one studies with detached interest until one comes across an important image to oneself that touches you in some way.
Ernest by André Kertész taken in 1931.