The social effects of photography during the current Iraqi War I

The social effects of photography during the current Iraqi War I

Introduction

The main purpose of this paper is to make an analysis on the social effects of photography during the current wartime. The paper is basically a reflection of the history of war photography, and role played by photographers in the Iraqi war. Photography played a significant role in creating and supporting the current war. The history shows that the role of photographers has always been essential in portraying the consequences of war. This is significant because photography can simultaneously romanticize the artist and suggest to the viewer that what he or she is seeing is truthful documentation. Certainly the increased circulation in the post-war years of mass-market journals and the concurrent popularity of magazine features on contemporary artists is relevant here. Moreover, as early as 1946 an article in the Magazine of Art noted that American businesses were not only purchasing art for their offices but were also producing in-house journals full of high-quality color reproductions of artworks. These were disseminated at no charge and in large quantities, reaching many people who never visited galleries or museums. Coincidentally, an advertisement by the Container Corporation appeared in this same issue of the Magazine of Art, making use of one of Moore's Shelter drawings.

Discussion

A leaner and more diverse profession emerged in the late 1 8OOs. Many studio operators continued to service the portrait needs of their immediate communities, following the pattern established in the daguerreotype era. Now, however, they advertised their skills with a variety of photographic processes. Others drew an increasing portion of their income from such new areas of specialization as the photography of items of commerce (machines, tools, and other products) or the practice of photography-on-wood for use in illustrated periodicals. A mass audience for photography was forming on the eve of the Iraq War, due in part to the low cost of paper prints and the merchandizing efforts of such firms as the Edward A. Anthony Company. Anthony had learned the daguerreotype process from Samuel F.B. Morse before opening a studio in New York City in 1842. In 1847 he established a daguerreotype supply business to provide cameras, plates, cases, chemicals, and studio equipment to photographers throughout the country. An astute businessman, Anthony responded effectively to competition from other suppliers and the changing needs of the p7rofession.' By 1859 he had begun using this extensive marketing operation to sell original photographs as well as supplies. Stereographs were just coming to prominence, and in the early summer of 1859 he commissioned and published a set of 175 original views. Among these images of scenic and historic subjects were photographs of Broadway, made with the very rapid exposure of about one-tenth of a second.

Civil War

Americans have had an unending fascination with the Civil War, the event that most clearly defined the meaning of American nationalism and society. Given the historic and ideological importance o1the conflict, Civil War photographs have ...