How Photographs Inform

Considering the images below, can you expand upon the notion of how a previous photograph can inform our understanding of another photograph?

An Example:

Audio click the triangle to listen along while you read.

The image on the left is by David LaChapelle. The image on the right is one taken of Michelangelo’s Pietà

My knowledge of Pietà and preconceived ideas surrounding the crucifixion of Christ bring context to LaChapelle’s image. Pietà is an iconic sculpture, one known for it’s beautiful rendition of the crucified Christ. It harnesses the power and emotion of a mother and child, as well as that of a sacrificial servant.

The brilliant color of LaChapelle’s image is in direct reference to the iconic image on the right. In contrast, LaChepelle’s “Pieta” shows a father lying dead in the arms of his lover. In place of the nail wounds assumed on the wrists of Christ in the original Pietà, we see needle tracks on the arm of a dead man.

My immediate feeling is of both loss and sadness as I view LaChapelle’s image. I also have an overwhelming sense of frustration. How could this addict sacrifice his life for his own selfish gain and vein conceit when he is leaving behind so much responsibility?

On the right is an image of a servant dying in the place of all humanity, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Holy Bible, Romans 5:8). On the left is a man lying dead, under a glorious light, in waste and addiction.

In contrast, one to the other, I see the connection of sacrifice, hope for an afterlife, and a warning to all humanity—the race is not yet won. Without the previous photograph that depicts Michelangelo’s Pietà, it would be difficult to make the connection to crucifixion and thereby, changing the photographic meaning of LaChapelle’s image, rendering just another scene of loss, death, and blame.

There are other examples of places in time where one photograph references another, can you think of any? Do you have any modern-day examples? Please post your images and thoughts.

by John Trefethen

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