THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY Fall 2017 | Baruch College | Macaulay Honors

The photographs which were shown at the Miskin Gallery were quite interesting and they all were pretty different from one another. Photography is unique because the picture which was taken can never be captured again. This is due to timing, place, pose, and many other factors. Furthermore, photography can be defined as a captured moment which is recorded through visual senses. These visual senses trigger many thoughts, emotions, and even action. Yet, all photographs have one theme in common. They all capture peoples attention in some way or form which could affect them in the future on a conscious or subconscious level.

Barthes describes the process of studium as the capturing of one’s attention. This is different for everyone because we all have a lot thought processes occurring simultaneously which causes this “capture”. This doesn’t mean that we deeply connect to the photograph, rather, it means we have something in common but we don’t know what. At first, a person has a small bond with a photo which could be broken by distractions and other occurrences. But, as soon as the photo triggers deeper explanation, memories, and even action that is what Barthes calls Punctum. This bond is not easily broken because the connection is made and is a part of someone at that point.

In the gallery, a photo of Rabbi Schonfeld contained both essential aspects of photography. It caught my attention (Studium) because I saw a stern yet confused face looking at something which I wanted to know more about. His clothing blends into the background except for the white and his mysteriousness talks to me. But, the tipping point was when I read that he was a rabbi. Last year I went to Israel for a full year and this man triggered memories of the great times with my own rabbis. It allowed me to access a part of my memories which I wouldn’t have been able to if I hadn’t seen such a photo. Now, Rabbi Schonfeld is part of my memory and it’s as if I know him and could connect to him through our similar lifestyles. The photographic “knowledge” which this gallery displays are ingenious. He incorporates something which relatable to many different people and different backgrounds. Marcel Sternberg’s photos range from many different people groups which creates a Studium and Punctum which makes this gallery special. This could be a rabbi, priest, psychologist, unknown person, police officer, a woman, and many other photographs.

When looking around my neighborhood I took a photo of this tree. This tree had Studium because it caught my attention due to its largeness and beauty in the lighting. People must be thinking what part of Punctum is apparent in such a photo. I personally see a place where I used to play on the weekends with my brother and even though it had been years since the last time I utilized the tree to play it is still a part of me. This shows that the photograph doesn’t need to be a wonder for it to incorporate Studium and Punctum. Simplicity in a photo could be the best way to show these two aspects because those are the photos which could have the deepest meaning and connection with and each person connects with something on their own level.

By: Alon Bezalel

Today, I discovered one of the more underrated places on Baruch Campus: The Miskin Gallery. The Miskin Gallery recently debuted an exhibit called “Portraits of the 20^th Century”. The exhibit was taken by a Hungarian-American photographer named Marcel Sternberger.               Sternberger’s “The Patriarch” was the photo that helped me best distinguish between Barthe’s concepts of studium and punctum in his book called Camera Lucida. Barthe defines the studium as “a kind of general enthusiastic commitment, of course, but without special acuity.” (26) The studium is when one looks at a picture at first glance. The initial view is detached from the essence of the whole photo. On the contrary, Barthe defines the punctum as “the element which rises from the scene, shoots out of it like an arrow, and pierces me.” (26) The punctum is when one looks at a picture and finds a piercing detail that is attached to the essence of the whole photo. Additionally, the punctum is more successful in creating a livable moment that touches the viewer.                                                                                                   “The Patriarch” was a photo in the Unknown Sitters section of the exhibit and it displayed a Wales coal miner. My initial reaction, the studium, was a picture of a man with his lips closed, his fingers on his face, and a hard to decipher look. After staring at the picture for a few minutes, I realized that the man’s hands were dirty as if he worked hard. Next, I focused in on his facial expression and concluded that he looked happy. When thinking even deeper, the punctum, I started to give a reason for the man’s hard-worked hands being juxtaposed with his joyous face.                                                                                                                              The reason I derived for the juxtaposition of the Wales coal miner’s hard-working hands on his joyous face is that through hard work one has to be true to who they are and smile. The portrait of the Welsh coal miner is meaningful to me because as I sit here working on a few essays I forget to smile once in a while and remember how fortunate I am to be here. I start to think that if the Wales coal miner can find a way to smile after a long day of hard labor than I can find a way to smile while writing a few essays.                                                                 Additionally, when walking down the streets of NYC, I took two pictures of the outside of two bars that reflect the elements of studium and punctum. Picture 1 is an example of studium. At first glance, I look at the outside of the bar and continue to go about my everyday life. Picture 2 is an example of punctum. After an initial look of the outside of a bar, the “piercing” detail that was meaningful to me was the Maryland flag. When going through the college process, I was deciding between Macaulay Baruch and Maryland. The flag is something I see in the picture that could have been an alternative future.

Andrew Langer

The “Patriarch” by Marcel Sternberger

Picture 1

Picture 2

The Sternberger exhibit is a magnificent display of photographic portraits, and these pictures perfectly exemplify Barthes’s concepts of studium and punctum. The kind of portraiture that Marcel Sternberger was known for, and really created, was the psychological portrait. The psychological portrait is pretty much what it sounds like; it is a picture of a person taken in such a way that it reveals their psychology, their essence, their exposed self. Sternberger’s process employed just a plain black backdrop and simple lighting, which allowed for full focus on the expression and emotional state of the person he was photographing. With this kind of portrait, it is possible for the outside observer to feel drawn in to the photograph, and to wonder about what was going on behind the scenes and in the subject’s head, in order for the picture to portray them in this way. And that is precisely what punctum is; it’s the personal attachment that breaks the detachment of the original view, the casual glance. This casual, detached glance or viewing is studium. It is the impression you get before becoming personally involved in a picture, and relating to it.

To further explain these concepts of studium and punctum take Sternberger’s photographic portrait of Sigmund Freud, the brilliant psychologist and developer of psychoanalysis. At first glance, it looks like any other portrait of a stuffy, old man. From far away, there’s nothing extraordinary about it, nothing that calls out to you. But step closer, and you will feel his eyes pierce you. Freud is not merely looking through you, he is looking at you, he is making eye contact with you. The depth in his eyes, and in the wrinkles around his eyes, are discernible like they weren’t before. It feels as though Sigmund Freud is with you in person. But of course, in reality, he’s not with you, and that’s what makes Sternberger’s portraiture so remarkable. In the example with Freud, he is able to capture this deep essence you would think to find in an eminent psychologist, were you to meet him in person. However, to achieve that personal relatability through a photograph is a real feat, and that is why Marcel Sternberger’s photographs so perfectly exemplify this concept of punctum. As for studium, there is studium with everything you see. Studium is merely your first impression of something, before you get close enough to it (either literally or figuratively) for it to puncture you. It is the casual glance, or glance from afar, like in the example above.