Blog # 8

Never before did I really think about how identity and photography affect each other. Watching the Shelby Adams and Tierney Gearon films made me realize that pictures do not just represent items, ideas, or feelings we like or associate with, but who we are as people. These films made me realize that people have a need for self preservation, and in order to achieve that they use photography. I feel like both Adams and Gearon had a unique story that they felt they needed to share through photography.
Now, when I look at photographs I see a different side of the story depending on the photograph or if I know the photographer. For example, at the exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the photographs of different kinds of Americans from all over the country made me think that the particular photographer wanted to share his perspective on America. Another example is of Tierney Gearon, whom I feel holds onto her work as more of a personal memoir. Though there was some controversy about her work, I feel like she did not mean for her photographs to be read as insulting or pornographic, but more exposed and reflective of whom she is as a person.
Shelby Adams was somewhat of the same case. Adams wanted to document where he was from and expose these people to the world, weather it was a day to day activity or a unique practice, he needed to document the lives of these people that he felt so much a part of. Adams was also targeted for portraying his subjects in a negative light or exploiting them, however that was not his purpose. Adams felt the need to preserve this unique culture, and share it with the world, so when he was gone there would be a little part of him left in the world.
One of the only questions I have is: is it possible to figure someone out by merely looking at their photography without any prior knowledge of the person? I feel, depending on the photograph, that I would need some prior knowledge of the photographer. However, some pictures can be so apparent that no knowledge is necessary. Usually the intention of the photograph is portrayed in the title or mostly the photograph; however certain elements may or may not be picked up depending on the viewer.