Mar 17th, 2008
5 Keys to Understand the Aesthetics of a News Picture
The Picture
On March 12th, 2008, a picture by Reuters was published on their photo blog. It was taken by photograph Luis Vasconcelos while Brazilian police broke a protest.
The picture, which cannot be reproduced on this blog, can be seen on Reuter’s photo blog.
It shows a woman carrying her naked child. She seems to be running. Behind her are faceless police shields that seem to pressure her. She’s screaming. She looks terrified.
In the following paragraphs, I will put forward 5 key elements that I believe contribute in making a powerful picture. To reach that goal, I will draw comparisons with well-known works of art.
1. Vertical lines
In the Vasconcelos picture, vertical lines are plenty. Although they are mainly found on the police shields, they are repeated in their legs. That high concentration of vertical lines provides stability to the image. In other words, they structure the picture.
In that regard, a nice comparison can be draw with The Lances of Diego Velasquez. That painting was made to show the surrender of Holland to Spain. The Spaniards’ stronger military force is shown with the lances on the right part of the picture. Their sheer number and their structure contribute to build their presence in the painting.
[The Surrender of Breda, ou Les Lances, Diego Velasquez, 1634-1635, 307,5 x 370,5 cm, Madrid, Prado Museum]
2. Diagonals
If vertical lines are numerous throughout the photography, they aren’t the only linear form present. In fact, on the left, the lines are breaking towards diagonals. By doing so, they create a sense of movement. Police officers in that area of the picture are almost moving, as if the power of the police was still growing.
Here, paintings by Rubens are most useful. In The Consequences of War, the painter used diagonals to boost the action in his paintings, creating a fierce sense of movement from left to right.
[The Consequences of War, Pierre-Paul Rubens, 1638, 206 x 342, Florence, Palazzo Pitti]
3. Color
The ground is brown, police officers are grey and black, the sky is white. Only the woman and her child provide color. Her orange skirt is the main focus of the picture, drawing the eye into the depths of the events taking place not unlike the red part of the French flag does in Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix.
[La liberté guidant le peuple (28 juillet 1830), 1830, 260 x 325 cm, Paris, Louvre Museum]
4. Unicity in multiplicity
The shields used by the police are industrial objects. By definition, there are thousands of them being produced. they are homogeneous in their format and feel. Placed side by side, they lose their uniqueness to form a new whole.
The inhuman aspect of these objects is caracterized by their regularity. The absence of diversity is overwhelming. These are not humans oppressing a woman; they are things that represent the authority. They do not feel emotions. In that sense, they provide structure yet are inhuman. It is rigid and solid; it is good architecture. And who would expect a building to feel something?
[Royal site of St.Laurent of Escurial, 1563-1583, Escorial (Spain)]
[Picture : Wikipedia]
5. Expression
No one can see that picture and not be touched by the pain the woman seems to feel. She is in distress, pushed back by an unnamed force. Furthermore, the stick over her head is menacing - if not violent. In that sense, we find emotions such as pain, trouble and torment, much like the person in The Scream by Edouard Munch.
[The Scream (detail), 1893, 91 x 73,5 cm, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo]
Conclusion
In this post, I tried to open analysis avenues to get a better understanding of the structure involved in a powerful news picture. I did it candidly.
To reach that goal, I tried to maintain an analytical distance between myself and the object studied. In doing so, I hope I didn’t come off as too cold in front of very real human distress. I also hope I provided some clues to help others deconstruct photographies.
