Ariel Margolin
Blog #5
The photograph that single-handedly stood out to me among the rest in terms of encapsulating Barthes concepts’ of “studium and punctum” was of celebrated opera singer Lawrence Winters. The gallery in whole was a wonderful collection of taking figures we know as greater-than-life, melting their figural wings and bringing them to a very mortal state. Although all the photographs show many sides of human existence and perhaps include historical figures more recognizable than the one by which I was stricken; the photograph of Winters’ to me signified something greater than all else: hope.
“Studium” or study, should bring the historical element of a photograph. The historical relevance of the photograph cannot be overstated as by breaking the color barrier, we open up the respective group to be fully charged in its potential. By limiting the arts, we limit the depth of which we creatively can reach, as an entire productive portion of the population is barred from engaging based on a non-artistic reason (in this case race.) The photograph shows a historical marking point, and for this I can comfortably sit here and say it captures the essence of studium.
The true attraction point of the photograph, lies in the smile and hopeful glee of the photographed. Within, Winters’ lightly curled smile and twinkling eyes reveal all; the “punctum” element Barthes describes, what “pricks” or “penetrates” the viewers conscience. In the age of the internet, we are subject to thousands of images a day, yet some of them stick to us like snow to a tree. This photograph is not some dry, recollection taken for the textbooks to commemorate, it shows true change, true progress. From his expression, we see that this change is real, and better days with brighter horizons are upon us. Most photographs have some form of studium, but the greats have the punctum which keeps them dog-eared in the folds of history.
Upon my treks through the city and around my neighborhood, I truly was unable to find something which too had studium and punctum. Something which contains both studium and punctum is amongst the rarest of photographs; only the truly significant things can have both. Only if I were to photograph the constitution in Washington or the MLK ground-zero, would I be able to have them. The truly hard-to-find element is punctum, for it is what is able to pique our human imagination. It like a falling flower petal can fill our hearts with emotion and our minds with thought.
