Precis

precis of chapter 2 in the book "The Photograph as Contemporary Art" by "Charlotte Cotton"

Chapter 2
Once Upon a Time

In this chapter the use of storytelling in contemporary art photography is discussed. This is referred to as Tableau Photography the use of a photo to narrate a story; it has its roots in figurative painting of the 1800s-1900s in the sense that a choreographed images elements convey a story or scene and that the viewer can recognize from those elements.  However in the end, interpretation of the story is determined by the thought process and understanding of the viewer. However there are many elements that influence the viewer’s interpretation of the tableau/narrative photo.

Some photos are clear in their intent through the reference of myths and stories as well as basic tools such as popular details and props; various photos indicate how some photos are compositionally structured to lead the eye to clues about the scene/story this is reminiscent of a typical renaissance art style. The use of props and light help in the understanding of the image’s intent as well.

The body language and emotion or lack thereof in the people in the photos tells a story of its own and links to the rest of an image creating a more powerful story. The use of children to portray dark and morbid scenes are used often as it is shocking and thought provoking.

Some staged photo’s have reference to historical images/art or events, however they are recreated in a modern, staged and contemporary style, thus requiring the viewer to have some knowledge of the history or the intended message will be lost (eg :artwork :Soliloquy by Sam Tyler Wood)
Tableau’s also create a context of time and space through the use of merging different time frames or images  to convey a time frame this can be compared to renaissance altarpieces of different moments in one picture

It is then discussed how the amount of detail effects the photo;  the removal of context in a documentary photo can create an entirely new “story” than that portrayed by the unedited image, this is sometimes done to intentionally confuse the viewer and force them to think more about the assumption as the result of context (for example lack of detail and background context). The same can be said when an image is hyper-real and intentionally abstract, the tableau’s message becomes the viewers interpretation entirely.

Lastly; Landscape or architectural Tableau photos rely on light, lack of people, and the assumption of what should logically take place there or what did take place, based on knowledge of the world. In some cases fake replicas with slight changes and imperfections are made, yet even though the viewer acknowledges it is not real they still enticed to see a narrative in the image.

To conclude the narrative meaning of a tableau photo is in the end dependent on the viewer which is influenced by the response to recognizable elements of a choreographed photo.

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