I stumbled upon this article on Digg today, and I was struck by how similar it was to our conversation in class. The first few sentences of the article stated, "Black and white photographs often feel more genuine than color images- more truthful, somehow- especially those depicting historical events. Much of that perceived authenticity derives from the fact that black and white pictures seem to be, in the most positive way, far simpler than their color counterparts" (Lightbox).
The photos in the article are a fantastic depiction of the events that occurred and they all send a very powerful message. If you don't have time to look at the article, at least check out these pictures:
I think my favorite picture is the last one. The caption states, "A little girl plays with her doll... two guns and a knapsack are next to her on the ground." Wow. This is a striking photo to me, not only due to the clarity and color of the photo, but also due to the message it ensues. This innocent, young girl is only playing with her dolls with no care in the world, yet next to her sits two weapons that contradict the very subject of the portrait. Two weapons that act as a symbol of war, of violence, and of death, lay directly next to this angelic girl that, frankly, isn't fully aware as to what is happening around her.
Photography is one thing that can persist over time. As the article states, "World War I is behind us, and with it, the first-person verification of what occurred. But the photographs- nay, the memories- remain"(Lightbox). I find it extremely fascinating that we can view photos of life in the olden days. Sure they may be glimpses of what was happening, and photography isn't truth, but it's something. It's a way to make a connection and relate to the events that happened in the past. A way to find out, or at least make a guess, as to why things were the way they were and what caused them to be that way.
I think you make a lot of great points Tricia. Although, I would argue that the main reason for color photography's lack of popularity was because it was considered a joke by artists and photojournalists. Now the cause of this could be color's association with advertisements and things of that nature or it could just be that people were set in their ways but I wouldn't say that nearly all the artists and photojournalists in the world didn't use color because they wanted the viewer to be able to see the event more realistically. Wouldn't knowing what the colors looked like during the event show more truth? Granted, they may be a slightly different shade but at least you can tell if there is a sunset in the sky or not. Another reason why I don't think photographers chose color because it showed more truth is because they actually often try to show less truth in their photographs. Take "The Soiling of Old Glory" for example. The original photograph showed that the protest/riot was actually relatively small and only took up a portion of the courtyard. Stanley Forman decided to crop the photograph to make the image seem more cramped. Now in this new photograph because we can't see all this extra space the viewer naturally assumes that the event had more people involved than it actually did.
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