Agenda:

 

1–Freewrite (The Still Life)

2–Discuss Teju Cole’s essay

3–New Terms 11-13 (see below)

4–Sentences: The Thesis Blueprint (complex sentence type…also the college sentence)

  • While X, I think Y.
  • Thesis blueprint = College Sentence =  Complex Sentence type

While Webb and Barthes are both great writers, I prefer Barthes because of the philosophy that he provides.

–apples to apples!

–Complex sentence: dependent clause + independent clause.

–Focusing sentence: Notice that the two books are in the center of the photo, and there are two small objects on either side. Next, notice that to the right is my hand sanitizer and to the left are my earbuds.

 

5–Homework

 

Continuing with our 28 photo terms:

 

11. Reality Effect:

A term made famous by Roland Barthes to mean the photographic illusions that add to a photo’s realism. In other words, the details that make a photo seem real rather than fake or fantasy. Therefore, it helps to describe a photo has having a high reality effect (see Jeff Roberts’s photo on our OpenLab site) or a low reality effect (see Cindy Sherman’s photos, for example). From Barthes’ The Rustle of Language (1984).

12. Studium:

Roland Barthes also made these two terms famous.

The studium of a photograph is the public and historical grounding of a photo. The studium is the photo’s context and its general understanding, which includes the precise time and place and weather. The studium of a photo must be visible not hidden. Additionally, the studium includes the cultural reading of people (their faces and clothing), gestures, buildings, trees, and actions within a photo.

13. Punctum:

The punctum of a photograph is highly individual, not public. The punctum pierces the viewer in a particular, private way. The punctum, which must be visible, pierces the viewer like an arrow, raising certain individual memories and consciousnesses to the surface. The punctum bruises me but not you. The punctum is about loving, while the studium is about liking.

*These definitions are from Barthes’ Camera Lucida. Hill and Wang, 1981.

Barthes’ example of punctum:

Little Italy. New York, 1954. Photo by William Klein

“What I stubbornly see are one boy’s bad teeth…”

 

Homework due Monday, Sept 16, before class.

#1: Study Studium and Punctum (above)

The following essays are in the Readings menu tab

#2 Read Sophe Calle’s short photo essay “Souris” and take notes. How did this photo essay make your feel? How does it compare to Rebecca Norris Webb’s photo essay? What is the reality effect of the images?

#3 Read John Berger’s essay “Understanding a Photograph.” Take notes. What are Berger’s main points? Write down at least three questions that you have. There is nothing to turn in, but I will call on each student. Cole, Berger, and Sontag will be the focus of Quiz 1, which will take place on Wednesday, September 18.