Note: This is a very different book than our last one, though in many ways it's also similar. It's about how many ways we can interpret a photograph, and how what we see as initially 'true' about the work changes with time, perspective, and context. Try to read it as a detective story about finding a clue hidden in plain sight for over a hundred years.
Answer TWO of the following for Tuesday's class:
Q1: Why did most writers assume that Fenton had 'staged' the second photograph? Why did they see this as the most 'common sense' explanation for the second picture? Would this be obvious to everyone looking at both images?
Q2: Why do many people call this "the first iconic photograph of war" (18)? It's not a very interesting photography for most people, but it remains an important one. What does it show us, and why might it have been influential for later photographers?
Q3: What does Morris mean by "believing is seeing" in this chapter? Who in this chapter (according to Morris) is most guilty of this? Why is it easy to fall into this trap when it comes to art and photography?
Q4: What does Morris mean when he writes, "Photographs provide an alternative way of looking into history" (31)? How does this photograph also challenge how we read and interpret the past?
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