Subjects/Objects: A Critical Look at Photographic Truth is now on display as a virtual exhibition at the Clark Humanities Museum. Sophomores Gillian Bell, Chloe Boxer, Molly Bradshaw, Madeleine Callan, Margo Collazo, Katie Eu, Anna Horne, Tsion Mamo, Vivian Monteiro, Emma Sar, and Aanya Subramaniam curated the exhibition as part of Fletcher Jones Chair in Art and Professor of Art Ken Gonzales-Day鈥檚 Core III class, 鈥淭he Mechanical Eye, Photography, and Truth鈥� which focused on historical and contemporary issues surrounding photographic narratives. The exhibition includes works by 20 photographers, including Ansel Adams, Eve Arnold, Jacques Lowe, and Dorothea Lange.
The exhibition examines the relationships鈥攐r lack thereof鈥攂etween the photographers and their subjects, and the narratives their images tell as a result of the dynamics between the subject, the photographer, and the viewer. 鈥淥bjectification in photography is portraying a subject without agency,鈥� the exhibition鈥檚 introduction reads. 鈥淧hotographs are as much a reflection of the photographer as the subject. In other words, the subject becomes the object and the photographer becomes the subject.鈥�
To inform their curation, Gonzales-Day鈥檚 students read a series of essays on photographers and documentary photographic practices. 鈥淢any of the readings and class discussions allowed us to consider the ways that photographic images can record aspects of a very 鈥榬eal鈥� world, while also serving to reinforce dominant ideologies, myths, and stereotypes,鈥� he said. For example, Dorothea Lange鈥檚 iconic image 鈥淢igrant Mother,鈥� which is included in the exhibition, quickly came to represent the experiences of White America during the Great Depression. But it also erased the nation鈥檚 indigenous histories, as the photo鈥檚 subject, Florence Owens Thompson, is now largely recognized as being of mixed ancestry. The image has also drawn speculation about its truthfulness: Lange altered the original negative to eliminate a thumb in the photo鈥檚 lower right section, challenging the image鈥檚 claims to documentary veracity.
Margo Collazo 鈥�23, whose final class project focused on the storytelling limits of a single image, said the course changed the way she looks at contemporary photographic media: 鈥淚t鈥檚 really made me think beyond what鈥檚 presented right in front of me. For example, Instagram may show people happy and having a good time, but that鈥檚 one聽second of a day that we see. This class has really made me聽aware that there鈥檚 a truth behind photos that isn鈥檛 always apparent.鈥�
Chloe Boxer 鈥�23 has realized that photography is 鈥渂oth an art and a window into the lives and experiences of people鈥� and that she plans to make her portraiture more collaborative, building on the meaningful conversations and relationships she has with her subjects. 鈥淧hotography has great power, and it must be wielded properly, especially in the digital age,鈥� she said.
The virtual exhibition is one of the many ways in which Gonzales-Day adapted his course to remote instruction. In past semesters, student exhibitions have been physically displayed at the Clark Humanities Museum, and Subjects/Objects will be mounted at the museum when the Scripps community returns to campus. In the meantime, students built a virtual space that replicates the real-world experience as closely as possible. 鈥淲e tried to keep the virtual reality version as close to the 鈥榬eal鈥� space as we could,鈥� Gonzales-Day said.
In light of the class鈥檚 conversations about photographic truth, the seen, and the unseen, Boxer admitted that it was 鈥渁 bit strange鈥� that the Scripps community is seeing a virtual replica of the Clark Humanities Museum rather than an in-person exhibition. But by manipulating images to create a display that doesn鈥檛 physically exist yet, Gonzales-Day鈥檚 students are, in some ways, reflecting their exhibition鈥檚 thesis: 鈥淚n many photographs of people, the truth of the subjects mixes with the truth of the photographer behind the lens. Multiple truths can exist at the same time.鈥�