what is a political picture?
Sunrise outside my parents’ house
ok, so RedSara brought out the big guns and asked the million-dollar question: “what is a political photo?”. ya, ok, so you caught me. That’s sort of a wide open category, ain’t it?
I guess if i want to clarify my request for political photos, i’d probably go for something like this: I want examples of photos that show people taking an active role in some sort of political struggle, and that are fairly easily identifiable as such. I’m looking for ideas on how to convey that action of doing something specifically because of its implications in fighting systems of oppression. So, a photo of something that is “political” is not exactly what i meant, since so many things are political, even without the participants realizing (or actually thinking of it as apolitical).
For example, a man peeing standing up is political. but i suspect that a lot of pictures of men peeing standing up (or sitting down) would not be identified by most people as a political act. I suspect it’s thought of, by many, as a totally neutral action, rather than an action reaffirming a masculine identity as different/better/more active/less passive/stronger than something feminine (and making more mess that women typically are expected to clean).
So maybe i’ve just stumbled upon another million-dollar question…how would one portray, in a photo, that peeing standing up or sitting down is a political choice? I’m going to think about that one. But until i come up with some sort of response, i’d like to see examples of photos that are identifiable as political choices. Actually, even more interesting would be photos of political choices that people don’t normally identify as political choices ;)
ok…my head’s spinning now. i’ve got stuff to ponder for a while. Thanks, Sara, for your ever-so-subtle nudge ;)
Ride hard, ride free