Narrative in Photography

In this essay we will explore and examine the use of narrative in contemporary photography.
Narrative photography suggests to us that the image, or images presented to us may have a story to tell, a message to communicate or a philosophy to convey. That story could be familiar to us in some way, drawing on references to art, cinema, theatre, or literature or may refer to personal values, shared beliefs, moral attitudes or have some significance within our perception of modern society and culture. The unfamiliar narrative is that which seems to be more obscure or illusive, being more the essence of something rather than that which is literal or straight forward but still drawing us to a sense of something that we may feel on a more profound and intimate level. The concept of an idea or message, with some kind of meaning, within an image may present itself clearly and depending on the narrative that the photographers wishes to express. Others may leave us asking the simple question ‘what does it all mean?’, leading us to think harder about the artists reason for making the image. To a certain degree, we may evenually come to realise how our relative knowledge of a particular genre of art, film or literature may be the very key to our understanding and subsequent decyphering of the photographs narrative.

Whether the narrative is one of fiction, fact , philosophy or fable one element of photographic practice seems to bind them all, and that is the method of staging images. Susan Bright, writing in Art Photography Now tells us on the subject of narrative in photography ‘At first this seems at odds with the singularity of a photographic still, but “staged” photography distils stories into one-off images,packed full of multi-layered information.’[1]. The photographer may spend a great deal of time making up or constructing a view for the camera using their own preconceived vision. Though we think of stories as being told over a period of time to progress and perhaps having a start, middle and end, the single image must bring together a number of visual markers or signifiers for us to put the story together for ourselves.

Sometimes the single image has many of the visual signifiers we associate with a well known tale, fable or myth but the emphasis is not so much on which story itself but more on the moment we appear to be witnessing within that story. An image can appeal to our recollection of something we know to have a certain outcome but with a twist or change causing the us to feel something is not quite right. And wanting answers that might not reveal themselves at first glance.
At this point, many of us will disregard the photograph as some kind of failed attemp to retell the story we know so well. This is the turning point for us as we must spend more time analysing all aspects of the apparently constructed image to try and fathom out what we are seeing. It is this uncanny or unsettling moment portrayed within a carefully choreographed photographic image often dramatising the event or moment which is sometimes referred to as “tableau vivant” which , in literal terms is French for “living picture”. Charlotte Cotton, in her book, The Photograph as Contemporary art ,clarifys that ‘Tableau-vivant photography, for pictoral narrative is concentrated into a single image: a stand alone picture.’ ‘Tableau photograph has its precedents in pre-photographic art’ , ‘we rely on the same cultural ability to recognise a combination of characters and props as a pregnant moment in a story.’[2]

The work of Jeff Wall is a good example of tableau photography. In Figure 1. Insomnia, we see a man lying on a floor in a kitchen. At first glance, this image seems slightly disturbing as we notice the man’s eyes are open and his facial expression appears to be of anxiety or even pain. The title of the photograph clarifies that he is suffering from some sort of sleet deprivation but the very fact that the title confirms this makes us feel unconvinced that this is all that the image has to offer us. Charlotte Cotton suggests that ‘the scene is stylised enough for us to suspect that this is a choreographed event functioning as an allegory of psychological distress[3]’. By allegory, she is implying that the scene is symbolic of psychological distress as perhaps an image of the grim reaper is a symbolic representation of death. A more modern example would be the “The Lord of the Rings”, being an allegory of world wars. If we look at Insomnia in this way, the image becomes a metaphor anxiety, depression and fatigue, all of which we associate as a negative aspect to social issues. What makes the image narrative contemporary is its relevants to the present lifestyle of modern culture. Though this photograph may not serve to uplift us in any way of convey some light hearted fable that we have a childhood recollection of, it does offer a sense of resonance to those of us who have suffered or have been affected by someone close to us who may have suffered distress from sleepless nights as a result of worry and depression.
In an interview within David Company’s book, Art and Photography, Jeff Wall elaborates on his motivation for wanting to create social and moral conceptual narratives in his work, ‘the conditions that I am articulating here are not strictly speaking bonded to any direct attitude towards social art, except in one sense: to be interested in the typologies of transformation may imply commitment to a philosophy of progress’[4]. Here he indicates that though his work may adhere to some of the prominent discussions and debates regarding art that conveys social or moral issues, he is more concerned with the direction of art and it’s far reaching political, social and cultural connotations, within modern society believing that his carefully constructed photographs may somehow play a part in the development of art critism within the field of narrative photography.

His image Insomnia portrays one of many controversial themes that he addresses in his images and leaves us with an innate feeling of isolation from the figure lying on the floor. This sense of apprehension and wish to somehow untangle the problematic dramatisation of the scene encourages us to become preoccupied with our own reactions. It’s our fascination with the layers within the still image with allows us to contemplate our awareness that the narrative of experience itself is being revealed. This gives the image an enigmatic value.
Gregor Stemmrich discusses Wall’s work in the book Jeff Wall – Photographs, and comments on moral narrative in his work. ‘the situation, however, in which the figures find themselves, becomes understandable in the aesthetic experience mediated by their scenic depiction. For the aesthetic experience is itself “amoral”, that is, it refuses moral categories’[5]. Here he is talking about the way in which the setting and staging of an everyday recognisable environment displaces the idea that a traditional moral narrative can be sought. However, it is perhaps human nature that when we are presented with any form of art, we would want to make judgement on the technique or technical aspects of the craft before making some kind of sense to why the photograph was made. It could be argued that traditional moral narrative is recognisable where as someone who wasn’t familiar with Walls style wouldn’t necessarily know that the image had a narrative to offer. Stemmrich goes on the suggest that ‘at the same time, it is the aesthetic experience that thematically grasps the situation and introduces figures that place themselves in relationship to it in a way that implicitly or explicitly raises moral questions’[6].

The photographer, Duane Michals, communicates narratives in his work by using text with the a single image or sequential series of images. In figure 2 we are presented with six black and white images all of which include a man who seems to be witnessing encounters that we associate with the unsavory, sad and tragic aspects of everyday, modern life. The man in every image has a lightened head, some kind of illumination or glow which is symbolic of a halo used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures. In each of the images he appears to be passive, only showing emotion in his face and body language, apart from the final image of the series, where he is laying on the street face down. In this final image he no longer has the glow, signifying a loss or even death. Before we take the title of the series and accompanying text into consideration, we can possibly make some conclusions about some if not all of the images as a series. Without the presentation of the series it is probably the first image that is most successful in portraying the halo’d man as a figure of Jesus Christ. In this particular image the bible is the visual aid that we associate with individuals who preach and leads our thoughts towards identifying the unnoticed man stood behind the television as a saint or prophet.

Within the title, Michals states the who and the where; “Christ in New York”, to avoid any confusion but within the text underneath each of the images he asks us to question the morality of modern society, specifically targeting television advertising, the cost of healthcare, the welfare of the elderly, human rights and law and order. All of the issues illustrated tell us as much about the author of the images as it does ourselves by inviting us to empathise with Michal’s stance on the state of modern society’s moral values.

Although this particular series could be deemed to be politically charged, much of Duane Michal’s images are in essence of an emotive nature. In an interview with Enrica Vigano in June 2001 he was asked about his feelings with regard to reacting emotionally to art. His response was ‘If it doesn’t affect you it is not art, its decoration’[7].

The fact that the text in Michal’s work is hand written evokes a sensibility to the content of the images even though the actual words used are few and serve the purpose of describing the image. In fact, our analysis of the authors hand writing supports our willingness to not only empathise but sympathise with the inherent fragility in the writer’s hand whether we feel it may be the written word of the photographer or some else. We could summise that this particular series of images asks us to consider the ethical dilemma within a modern society’s apparent need to re-establish its morality.

David B.Boyce, the freelance arts writer and curator of the Duane Michals November 2002 exhibition for the University of Massachusetts “Duane Michals Unlimited 1958-2002,” wrote and article in the January-February 2003 edition The Gay and Lesbian review. He describes Michals work by saying ‘In handwritten narratives in the print margins of individual images and sequences of his work – which were wholly devised Mise-en-scene playlets – Michals addressed human emotions that were essentially intangible and interior’[8] By using the French expression Mise-en-scene which literally means ‘putting on stage’ but is often used in theatre and film to describe aspects of a production which are difficult to define. Boyce is trying to get us to understand how Michals photographs may somehow be able affect us deeply and alter our state of mind by making a connection with our personal philosophical views.

In contrast to “Christ in New York”, we will look at Figure 3 “The Bogeyman”. The title refers to a tale of a legendary ghost like monster, often told to children by their parents in an effort to make them behave and not be naughty. Michals has made reference to the tale by including a story book belonging to the child reading it and in his images he attempts to reconstruct the tale and retell it acting out the child’s fears of what lies beneath the clothes hanging on the stand. It does not appear to be a complex scene with numerous visual signifiers that might be in need of supporting text but instead, a simple fable with a sinister twist. We might think that the simplicity of the tale told in the images needs no more thought than perhaps how the photographer cleverly switches, between shots, the hat and coat stand to an actor/model posing as the monster. However, this is only our intellectualisation of what we see objectively and not what the photographs narrative may invite us to feel on a more visceral or instinctive level.

Marco Livingstone, curator of Duane Michals retrospective touring exhibition (1984-1985) and author of “The Essential Duane Michals” wrote ‘The Bogeyman, explores the ways in which childhood curiosity about the unknown is tainted by an irrational fear of the very things it seeks to disclose or uncover’[9]. The images depict the tale that we all know so well and that we would normally feel quite comfortable with until we study the final images of the figure coming to life and snatching the girl away. It is this convincing final frame that might alter our perception on the artists intension and lead us to wonder whether this very young child was acting for the photographer or genuinely scared when the figure snatches her and runs towards the camera. It is a provocative piece of work and its effectiveness is in its simplicity, playing on our memories and recollection of what it is to be a child again. More importantly perhaps, is the idea that an simple string of images can convey a childhood allegory and simultaneously rouse a chilling sense of fear that possibly only some of the most memorable writings in literature or moments in cinema have achieved.

In order for us to come to some kind of conclusion about identifying narrative in contemporary photography we must first notice that some form of staging or purposeful planning has taken place in the making of the image and that careful consideration has been given to the placement of the objects or people within the scene or scenes. We should take note and pay attention to the details of relative positions of individual elements and composition of the layout that the photographer has most likely put a great amount of time and thought into constructing. The physical gestures of characters or people in the scene whether directed to the viewer or to another character will undoubtably play an important and sometimes fundemental part of the coding within the image. Most importantly is our ability to identify references to other works of art ,film or literature which may in the title, acompanying text or some significant visual reference. Once this can be established, we may be able to contemplate the narrative within the work and hopefully find some sense of resonance, wonder and enlightenment. We could possibly agree that when we are challenged by an images meaning or confused by its apparent message, our instinct is to either dismiss it and give up or focus our thoughts in an attempt to find answers. At this point, we may need to stop grasping for answers from our inherited ideology and the outdated concepts based on our upbringing. Instead, look within ourselves and reflect on our own experiences to find common ground and empathise with the artist and their work.

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[1] Art Photography Now, Susan Bright, page 78 2nd paragraph
[2] The Photograph as Contemporary art, Charlotte Cotton, page 49, 2nd paragraph
[3] The Photograph as Contemporary art, Charlotte Cotton, page 51, 1st paragraph
[4] Art and Photography, David Company, page 250, 1st column 2nd paragraph
[5] Jeff Wall Photographs, Gregor Stemmrich, page 152 2nd paragraph
[6] Jeff Wall Photographs, Gregor Stemmrich, page 152 2nd paragraph
[7] Conversations with Contemporary Photographers, Erica Vigano, page 107, last paragraph
[8] http://wilsontxt.hwwilson.com/pdffull/07048/qr3ww/tf6.pdf
[9] The Essential Duane Michals, Marco Livingstone, page 134, final paragraph