Susan Sontag

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Susan Sontag

Separation of reality

Our irrepressible feeling that the photographic process is something magical has a genuine basis. No one takes an easel painting to be in any sense co-substantial with its subject; it only represents or refers. But a photograph is not only like its subject, a homage to the subject. It is part of, an extension of that subject; and a potent means of acquiring it, of gaining control over it.

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Fiona Loughnane: The development of a medium that allowed for a quick and accurate reproduction of the world meant the creation, for the first time in history, of a visual record of all aspects of life. Photographs offer a visual knowledge of the world outside direct experience. This knowledge is abstracted and second-hand, but it nonetheless creates a strong sense of recognition

Allen Green: This explains why pictorial evidence is so highly persuasive. Viewers typically believe that they are seeing reality, so the effect is immediate and direct. In contrast, a more scientific analysis based on research data and calculations is more abstract and less intuitive. Left unchallenged, pictures are likely to override even the most compelling and conclusive scientific evidence