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    published by Photofile 59 April 2000, p. 4

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    published by Photofile 59 April 2000, p. 4

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    10 views7 pages

    Joan FONTCUBERTA - True Lies and Photofictions

    Uploaded by

    P.R.
    published by Photofile 59 April 2000, p. 4

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    PHOTOFI SUES ote PUPP TUNUP RCC NNT ‘Truths Fictions Virtuality Joan Fontecuberta We easily accept reality, perhaps because we feel = THE WRITING OF ‘that nothing Is real, APPEARANCES Jorge Lue Borges Why do we cal photography Tne Immortal ‘photography"? Because Fox Talbot couldn't speak Gresk Or at least, not well enough. That is, in any case, the claim advanced by Vilem Flusser regarding the cistinguished irvonter of the tern. The prefix ‘photo’ comes from phos, whieh means light, but it would have been more acourate to ‘say phaos. This would have brought us closer to phaiain and ‘phonein, terms which should translate into the vero ‘to apes’ rather than to ‘to shine’, and which ge bith to such words as phantom, fantasy or phenomenon. This lexlcography refers by extension, to ghosts, ilusions and ‘other apparitions. ‘Photography’ therefore lterally means ‘apparent writing’. Consciously or unconsciously, Photographers have been bent on transforming their medium into a genuine ‘writing of apearances' In December 1989, a somewhat confusing ‘ravolution’ overthrew Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu. A turbulent situation ensued, covered by news correspondents in Bucharest. In June of the following year, the newspaper EI Pais ren a full-page article on the news of the moment: a. series of violent altercatione between supporters and detractors of the new Prime Minister, Pete Roman. The article Is lustrated by a large photograph which occupios more than @ quarter of the page. lis caption reads: “Supporters af the government display the shets of bullets, which itis presumed, were fred by demonstrators." Let us pause to consider the phrase ‘it is presumed". The proposition indicates two things: on the one hand the rewspaner editors’ uncertainty with respect to the proper interpretation of the photograch's content, its true mearing beyond the biased polltical versions of those who transmitted it. More importantly, however, the phrase seeks to convey the idea thal the editors are conscious ofthe need for suspicion. In other words, they rerain from taking a stance: their hands are clean, _By holding the reader co-responsible for determining the | ikaihood of the image, the journalist is freed from ethical remorse, We are warned: “Ths information must be taken ‘with a grain of salt, but we are giving it to you anyway." Or ‘Ae are not at all certain about this Information.” tn other words: “This news Is pure supposition.” The reader thus shares the journalist's doubts (which Is quite healthy). But does she share them all? No, cf course only a few of them (which is quite dangerous). In this case, only one hesitation is provided, perhaps the most important af all ~ the one doubt Which lifts the smoke screen only to better hide the others. ‘Tho rigorously correct caption benaath the photograph shoud in fact have read: "Presumed supporters of the government display what are presumed to be the shelis of billets fled, i fs presumed, by presumed demonstrators.” ‘The news marketis based on a protocol of confidence, 10 which technology contributes by conveying lkelinood, Diogenes used a lamp to seek out the truth today, the pursult of tnth is waged with cameras, The paradox is that Diogenes’ lamp flashed light on objects, whereas in the case of the camera, the ight Is swallowed. The camera does not necessariy enlighten our understanding; It must, as Flusser ‘suggested, confront ightness and darkness, with ghosts and appearanoss. Contrary to what we have historically been ‘aught, photography has more to do with fiction than facts, FFcto is the participle of fingere, which means ‘to invent’. Al of photography, without exception, is pure invention. IN SEARCH OF LOST IDENTITY Lot us imagine that we are surrounded by a few of Rembranct’s mastorpiaces. We select an emblematic painting; the famous work entited The Btinaing of Samson, ‘which relates the story of Deliah’s cutting of Samson's hair, the latter’ loss of his magic powers, and the puncturing of his ‘eyes by the Philstines, We are dazzled by the force of Remioranat’s composition, tho assurance of his touch, the exoressiveness of colour... Everything inctes Us to relve the pathos of the event: the triumphant satisfaction of the ‘raltress Deliah holding the sciseors in hor hand, the hero's slupor as he is immobilized by the thugs, the dagger bending to tear out hie eyes. But there is one bothersome dotall. We find it strange that Rembrandt should have painted Samson with Asian features. It is even mare bizarre to S98 Dolih, and all the solders, represented as Japanese. Even more extraordinary ‘and disturbing is the fact that all of them, men and wornen alke, are the seme person: they have inherited the face of a single man, photographer Yasumasa Morimura, He repeatedly and obsessively performed similar substitutions, placing his own face over those of the characters represented in famous works of ar. In doing s0, he sought to comupt the Western pictorial tradition, a memory of images which we are accustomed to perceive as generic ‘and universal, but which, in fact, represent one of many options, the dominant one. ot Lot us now observe another sequence, this time works of art, but artists’ portraits. Scene in a cafe near er fm the aries Mann Ohne Sganschaton The man witht quates) ND Montparnasse, With the rebel, anti-conformist look artist fee! obliged to project when they pose before the camera, we see Breton, Bluard, Peret, Aragon, Man Ray, Ernst, Dali, an unknown artist and Picabia. And now a photograph of the ‘group belonging to Andy Warhol's ‘Factory’. The caption Identifies them, from left to right, as Nico, Gererd, Maureen ‘Tucker, Danny Wiliams, Sterling in the back row, Stephen ‘Shore, Andy, Lou Reed, an unknown artist and John Cale. In ‘another photograph, a group of celebrities poses during the inauguration of an art exhibit in a major New York museum. Indetectibly, an anonymous gure appears in the ist. We discover the of this. of the ic events and their the series of photographs ref ntury's art Itinara protagonists. Oddly, each picture contains an unidentified character, and what is even more bizare is thatthe character In question is always the same, staring back at us wit his Cchubby-cheeked face, his moustache and jerky 100k In his eyes. ft Is not an unknown artist but the unknown arts. \What we obviously have isan artistic project in which graphic documents are manipulated and in which the unknown artist repeatedy places his own face near thase of perfectly well krown artistic greats Only in the end do we discover thatthe Unknown artist isWarren Neidich.(rarkly, we would have preferred that, in honour of his pseudonym, he remain anonymous). But these mysttications do not only affect the word of art. The news and the graphic press also lend themselves to such practices. Consider, for example, the famous snapshot of John F. Kennedys assassination in Dallas. Te president, standing in his impressive convertible, smiles wholeheartedly at the enthusiastic crowd assembled to bid him welcome. Insioe the car, between the president and the mayor of the city, another elegant charactor waves his hand with the assurance of a poltician campaigning for votes. Who is he? It we examine the original image, he doesn't apnear. What ‘we have here is a stowaway of history. He can also be seen in the company of soldiers bulling @ baricade, tke a second-rate actor standing next to Frank Zapoa. His name is Matthias Wahner, who, In the series Mann ohne Eigenschaften ("The man without qualties’), antspates the cffects of intervening in vicual memory, which would later be Popularised by the movio Forast Gump. The ttle makes an ironic reference to the novel by Robert Musi, which oseribos a character who never stands out and can go ‘completely unnoticed. Apparently, ike Wahner himself traveling through the flashes of history. One finel example: front page of the newspaper La Vanguardia. The news of the day leaves us flabbergasted: the famous tennis player Monica Solos has boon stabbod by a crazy spectator. The photograph iustrating the event ‘shows us the painod expression on the athlot'sfaco as the securty foroes arrest the agaressor. Whereas both the ttle fend the caption undemeath it mention Monica Seles, hhowevor, the facial festures do not coincide wth those of the ‘Moria Seles we know. The same thing occurs repeatedly in the ilustrations of other events. We are confronted with the same face, that of Laura Baigor, who used retouching and digital photoriontage £0 make herself a protagonist in the Crucial events of recent photojournalism, in the obosing image ofthe series, the text announces a visit by the king of Spain to the athletic facilities of the town of Banyoles, and tals of his friendly conversation with Olympic volunteers. The srving monerch shes ts hend ofa waieer: we oxpect Laura Bago 0 represen is cheracnr once again Bi ae we in the presence of 2 naw equivecation’? No. Baigorri was really an Olympic volunteer, and iis photograph was indeed published in the press. For nce, whathar you baleve itor rot, the snapshot is autho. Baigorr’s proposition is the last straw which plunges us into complete confusion. If a fa Stony @ very malicious boy enjoys making fun of his Companions: Feigring to be scared, fo cies for help af ths ht lt easius wo. When ris tends evo on to soans amd win ck, ho eats them creduious fools. Bit the wo shows un nonetheless, and no one pays iendon to Se Boys eepectsiies Tho mre of the olor 6 that one shoul? fe, for ® may decoy one's credbity a a cust moment. Faigon ato insttutonaices the status quo of ling uf er message © dforeni: wo shouldn't accept everyitang af lace wale, but we shouldn't ‘ohuce eventing Ste Dell me eto That the poo boy wes eeoued ys wis nx ony ho (edu of he exoqneria’ sense of humour: ne compas could have set hr stig Balore ® was t0 ite. eres, 2 seems to me thet a el sion thee ae ithe Gecrees oF cremation etween “The wo i coming The wolt is coming® and “Damn, hats eating ent” ‘THE THEATRICALISATION OF REALITY Contemporary art supports the notion of flsfotion as an intellectual stretegy. Beneath the fun and provocation lies satire on the role of photography in the contemporary ora an it sil be considered a technology inthe service of rath, ‘2 medium of evidences? Today, nothing is evident; on the Contrary, we navigate In a cous of ambiguity, through vital spaces that are substitutes for experience. Inthe context of “media culture’, concepts of truth and falsehood have bean stripped of all validly. Everything is both true and telse, estalishing a new protocol of relations ‘or images and_ systems of knowledge transmission, vtich tend to repostion the social functions of technologies that preduce images and redefine notions of what i eal Ih Spain, there exsts @ contest called Fotopres, a sort of Word Prass Photo at the level ofthat county, designed to reward the year press photograohs which nave had the greatest Impact. In 1988, the fst prize was awarded toa tree- lance photographer named Jaume Munanter Comeliars for a snapshot entitled M'en voig am la meve mare (am going to my mother’), It depicts a young bride in her wedding gown, her head covered by a vel and a bouguet of flowers in her hand, fleeing the groom who chases her and attempts 10 prevent her from leaving. The soene seems tobe occuring in 4 ote lobby. The banquet nas perhaps been celebrated ‘thet, and the frst altercation must have happened at dessert “The young oride may have had a nervous breakdown pxor to her weaiding night. What we have is @ stock Itsrary station that would have deighted Pedro Almodévar. Several days after the prize wes awerded, and the ‘alist jury had published @ communiqué praising the quality and the timeliness of the photograph, the scandal ‘erupted: the eoene was not drawn from tue life, but hac been invented by the theatre group, La Cubana, The experimental ‘10up champions street theatre, and ts representations break ree of spaces which are cas idonifaby theatrical to ‘explore unexpected spaces and places (markets, shopping mals and so on). Their representations are not simply for centertsinment: they are concolved as commando raids or razies destined to lure the pubie into an ection located ‘somewhere between realty end fiction, betwoon fe and representation. The organisers convened the jury once again to reconsider ts decision. Jaume Munaner was ipso facto deprived of Fis award, despite his denial that he had bean aware of the fact that the scene he photographed was theatrical ~ he had acted in good faith. The prize-winning photograph hed been presented in the ‘snapshot category, {and according tothe contest reguitions, it was required to dopict “unpredictable events impossible to anticipate”. The members of the jury all of them experienced photojournalists, unknowingly made an important Contribution to jurisprudence as well as to metaphysics: the realty which the photographer may capture is imposed upon Us lke a fux in the manner of Heracitus. | don’t know ifthe jury took Platonio theory into account in its delberations: "God creates the Archetype (the criginal idea) of a table; the carpenter, a simulacrum." tis said of Protinus, Borges wrlies, that he was almost ashamed of iving inside a body and that he forbade scuptors from reproducing his silhouette. To a _ friend who ence tried to convinee him to alow himself to be sculpted, he replied: “It is hard enough to have to cany ‘around this skmulacrum in which nature has imprisoned me. Why should | allow the image of this image to perpetuate?" It would be Interesting to know the jury’s opinion on the majority of situations photojournalists must confront today. ‘The world 's becoming one big theatre, there is no divorce, between really and representation. Press conferences, political meetings, athletic events, major commemorations, ‘and even certain wers have turned into extremely eisborate

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