READING A PHOTOGRAPH

      This week in class, whilst discussing the previous reading's we devised a plan to help each of us when reading photos - it's basically a checklist of items to look our for and take into consideration in order to ensure a better understanding when reading a photograph. What we came up with was:

• Aesthetics - what is included in the photo, any little details
• Composition - how the picture is set out, what is in focus, what is central to the photo
• Photographer - what is occurring in the life of the photographer, what is their previous work like, recurring themes?
• Cultural State - what is going on in the world or specific place at the time when the photo was taken
• Medium - the camera used, the film used

We also knew that when looking at a photograph we had to take into consideration 4 key things:

• Denotation - the literal meaning / description
• Connotation - the second / deeper meaning
• Studium - cultural / historical context
• Punctum - what stands out in relation to you

     We then put all of these key factors and the checklist into consideration against Diane Arbus' "A Family On Their Lawn One Sunday In Westchester NY 1969". The denotation of the photograph showed a young family enjoying their summer, relaxing and sunbathing with the children playing in the background. When we looked at a deeper meaning we saw that the man actually looks extremely unhappy and frustrated with his head in his hands which could reflect on his unhappy marriage. There is a possible alcoholic beverage on the table between them and this table also reflects the distance between the man and the woman which again emphasises this space between the couple. The huge amount of open space around them has connotations of wealth and the fact that they are facing completely away from their child shows a sort of neglect towards him. When we looked further into Diane Arbus for the Studium aspect of the photograph we discovered that in 1969 at the time when the photo was taken Diane has gotten divorced from her childhood sweetheart whom she had two children with. The setting is also relevant as she is from New York herself, and the fact that the photograph is in black and white also reflects on lots of her other work. The punctum of the image is that the child looks closer to the mother in the picture therefore I feel as though Diane felt that she was closer to her children, whilst also proving that the surrounding wealth cannot buy he any happiness.