Roland Barthes' Latin

After reading an excerpt from Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes, I realise it presents numerous challenging ideas. Firstly, the obviously bereft mindset of Barthes and his apathetic approach to the majority of photography. I do believe, however, that Barthes tries to find a point of interest within all photographs and simply has a particularly selective taste. This taste seems to be drawn to images with a distinct sense of realism and sadness. However, the sadness is not always present within the images themselves but the 'punctum' within the context.

For example, he explains how photographs of the past present the 'punctum' of unavoidable death: the death of the subjects that has already occurred and therefore we are looking back with nostalgic sentimentality but with an unnatural feeling of omniscience. This idea suggests we can never approach a photo without feeling this contrast in emotion, well, not those who have read the same excerpt from Camera Lucida anyway. For the rest of the population, they recognise a certain over-shaddowing feeling of a tainted memory but this to them is inexpressible and the thought inevitably passes them by.

     

This apathy towards photography, Barthes describes in a singular latin word: studium. Studium is the general subjective response a photograph without any specialised or previously learned contextual knowledge (in terms of photography). It allows someone to like, dislike or be immersed in a photograph without any in-depth knowledge as to the context: political, religious and ethical references etc

Many photographs are, alas, inert under my gaze. But even among those which have some existence in my eyes, most provoke only a general and, so to speak, polite interest: they have no punctum in them: they please or displease me without pricking me: they are invested with no more than studium. - Roland Barthes (Camera Lucida)

A particular modernist sensibility is in fact that the image and aesthetics are presented and contemplated before the context (if the context is even necessary). This presents the idea that modernism conforms to Barthes theory of 'studium' at least. As for 'punctum', the stark realism of modernist photography often lends itself to the presentation of particularly emotive subject matter. And so the connection begins to unfold. However, the photographs Barthes talks of in the excerpt are by the Dutch reporter Koen Wessing and are documentary, un-staged images. This, therefore, sets it apart from Walker Evans' portraits.

A photograph taken from Koen Wessing's Nicaragua 1979 selection; one of the photographs Barthes talks about when explaining his theory of studium and punctum.

This photograph is them contrasted when compared to Walker Evans' work surrounding the great depression as although they are both of similarly distressing circumstances, the process hinders the context and gives a certain feeling of insincerity.

One of Walker Evans' photographs of The Great Depression

Although their seemingly candid nature, in order to capture the appropriate emotional distress and 'realism' Walker Evans took numerous shots. This idea of 'setting up' a shot asks questions about the objectivity and subjectivity within modernism which is viewed almost with a kind of worthiness in comparison to post-modernism and its well documented irony and subjectivity.