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October 27, 2005
Bell Hooks's Take on Photography
One thing that struck me about Bell Hooks's essay is in the first page she describes how a mere picture of her father meant so much more to her. The picture represented his past, something that none of his children knew too much about. It represented his closeness with Bell's sister, V. It represented jealousy and competition between the two sisters even at a grown age.
I don't even realize how much baggage is attached to each one of my photos until I really stop to think about it. I too have photos which represent my close relationship with another person. I have photos of people who are no longer in my life...these photos represent my past. I also have some photos that I'm sure my sister wishes she as, just as she has some photos that I wish I had. Upon first reading this page, I thought it rare that such a meaningful photograph could exist, until I realized that all photographs mean more than merely the image they contain.
I understand why Hooks links the art of taking photographs to the pyche of African Americans. Photography was a way to produce truth in a world where blacks were depicted in such dishonest manners. However, I found the essay overall hard to understand, and I don't feel like I took eight pages worth of information away from it.
Posted by lcissullivan at October 27, 2005 08:29 PM
Comments
I feel that if we had a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the changes and advances in black's association with photography that we would have gotten more from the essay. Otherwise, it was an interesting piece and brought up something I have never thought about before.
Posted by: Lauren Searls at October 27, 2005 10:31 PM