Reading photographs
March 14, 2022
When ‘reading’ these two examples of different Afghan women who are of a similar age we should take into account the stare, not just that of the two women in the photographs but that of ourselves, what Earnst Gombrich calls ‘the beholders share’ (1).
Staring at Mccurry’s photograph, my perception is heavily influenced by seeing it on the front page of National Geographic in 1985 on my dad’s bookshelf – a place of visual curation….and a time before the troubles of 9/11. This image was and still is for me respected as a beautiful record of a foreign experience.
Staring at Biebers photograph which featured on the front page of Time magazine in 2010, I see a more disgusting and graphic portrayal of the plight of millions of Afghan women. Maybe more ‘real’ because I have grown up in the generation affected by the ‘war on terror’ and identify more strongly with those affected by it.
(1) GOMBRICH. E.H. 1960. ‘The Beholder’s Share’ in Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation. London: Phaidon Press, pp.181-287