Topic 7: WORDS and PICTURES

Activity

Task
Read Roland Barthe’s essay ‘The Photographic Message’ in Image – Music – Text  
[BARTHES, R. 1977. Image – Music – Text. London: Fontana pp.15-31] This is available in the Talis Resource List.   
Try to find an example that illustrates your understanding of what Barthes describes as the ‘parasitic’ relationship between word and image. This could be from any field or genre of photography:   
… the text constitutes a parasitic message designed to connote the [photographic] image, to ‘quicken’ it with one or more second-order signifieds. In other words, and this is an important historical reversal, the image no longer illustrates the words; it is now the words which, structurally, are parasitic on the image.
(BARTHES, 1977: 25)
Post your example to the forum below and explain your reasoning (max. 200 words). 

My response:
It is interesting to see that although Barbara Kruger has emblazoned the message ‘Your body is a battleground’ across this otherwise striking and powerful image, the title for the image itself is ‘untitled’. Could this be an example of a ‘parasitic’ relationship between word and image? This does depend on the context that the image was produced. Originally a poster for a pro-choice march in April 1989 the poster was created in response to anti-abortion laws. This was displayed on buildings and billboards to bring to light the issues of inequality. As a poster the white font on the bold red background is justified by the artist to broadcast her message.
In later years this poster as an image has been taken more as a meaning of gender inequality and is more relevant in looking at the way we view and treat women. Mirroring the positive and negative sides of the stereotypical woman’s face together produces a powerful image that would only need the accompanying title of ‘Your body is a battleground’ to help guide the viewer towards the meaning of the image, without the need for the distracting boldness of the text on the image itself.

​Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Your body is a Battleground), 1989. The Broad, Los Angeles, California.

​WORDS and PICTURES: Reflection

Reflection Guidance
To what extent has text been part of your practice up to this point? When have you found it most effective?  To date I have not used text as part of my practice. I have preferred to let images speak for themselves rather than use superfluous titles or captions. I also do not like to see a title of ‘untitled’.

 Can you think of instances where your use of text – titles or captions perhaps – has ‘intimated’ too much for the viewer? Has text ever undermined your photographs?  
​N/A