Weekly Selfie #1

 

A College Student Stressing Out

Susan Sontag excerpt from On Photography

Quote 1: "To collect photographs is to collect the world."

Response: The photographs capture moments that can never be experienced in the same way again. They also transport us to a different time and place and allow us to see the world from a new perspective.

Quote 2: " To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. "

Response: By capturing an image, the photographer takes control of the object and changes its meaning. The photographer's point of view can shape how people perceive the object, and he or she may even choose to manipulate the image to give it more meaning.

NY Times: How Carrie Mae Weems Rewrote the Rules of Image-Making

Quote 1: "A camera has become more than just a journalistic or artistic tool, but a kind of weapon itself - one that reveals the truth."

Response: With the rise of social media, cameras are easily accessible and can be used to capture footage of events or incidents that would otherwise be hidden or distorted. This footage can then be used to pressure governments or organizations into taking action or holding people accountable. 

Quote 2: "What women have to be and what men have to be because you're always struggling for equilibrium."

Response: Many women often have to juggle multiple roles, such as mother, wife, and career professional. On the other hand, some men are expected to provide for the family and be the primary breadwinner. This can create pressure on women and men to balance all of these roles.

Revisiting Carrie Mae Weems’s Landmark “Kitchen Table Series”

Quote 1: “This woman can stand in for me and for you; she can stand in for the audience, she leads you into history.  She’s a witness and a guide.”

Response: She is the main character of the story and helps bring the story to life. It provides insight into the world the characters live in and helps the reader understand the context of the events taking place.

Quote 2: "Weems’s black-and-white photographs are like mirrors, each reflecting a collective experience: how selfhood shifts through passage of time; the sudden distance between people, both passable and impassable; the roles that women accumulate and oscillate between; how life emanates from the small space we occupy in the world."

Response: Weems' photographs are a powerful reminder of the fragility of life and the fleeting nature of time. Weems' photographs capture the nuances of emotions, ideas, and experiences that are often difficult to express in words. By capturing these moments, she encourages us to reflect on our own experiences and find our own place in the world.