Photos that Make a Difference
Andreas Feininger’s photophraph “Hudson river waterfront at midtown”
Candace Scharsu’s photographs “HIV Aids poster promoting safe sex using condoms,” and “Hounfour, a Voodoo shrine with iconography of the gods”
The main purpose of photography is to convey messages. Images can be very powerful in conveying a message from one part of the world to the other and are in a sense, a universal language. However, when words, signs, or symbols are present in the image, it can add new meaning and provide a more accurate context to the photograph. The exhibition “Between Language and Geography” displays images that include words, signs, or symbols to deliver a more accurate interpretation to the meaning of photographs. When I entered the gallery, the work of Candace Scharsu stood out. She uses photography to reveal the powerful and tragic realities that occurred in Sierra Leone, Haiti, and Uganda.
To express the theme of the exhibit, a photo taken by Andreas Feininger of the “Hudson River Waterfront at Midtown” in 1945 was put on the postcard promoting the show. This photo seems like an ordinary picture taken of midtown Manhattan; however, when looked at closely, one notices the words “Welcome Home.” The words refer to the return of American soldiers at the end of World War II. By including words in the photograph, Feininger changed the meaning of this New York Harbor scene to a historical document. This photo accurately describes the message this exhibit delivers: words, signs, and symbols do make a difference.
In a gallery where most of the photographs are taken in black and white, Candace Scharsu’s images stick out when you walk through the door. Those images are the work of Candace Scharsu. Her first image is a photograph of an “HIV Aids poster promoting safe sex using condoms.” It was taken in Uganda, East Africa, 1997. In a time, where rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) were invading Uganda and bringing a gun culture with them, the rifle is used to depict the tragedies that Aids was causing. Aids was actually killing more people than the rebels were, and therefore, the rifle was not firing bullets but condoms to promote safe sex. This image makes a strong statement and raises much awareness. In such a modern day and age, there is a lack of education in Uganda to teach Africans to use a condom. Therefore Aids prevention is preoccupying the messages of posters during a time of war. Instead of worrying about the fighting, they need to have sex in a safer manner.
In Candace Scharsu’s photograph Hounfour, a Voodoo shrine with iconography of the gods, she utilizes the Voodoo symbols to explain the Temple. The photo was taken in Haiti in 1998. A Hounfour is a Voudoun temple where priests or priestesses (practitioners of Voodoo) perform rituals calling upon their Loa, which are their deities. The snake symbolizes Damballah, God of Wisdom. The heart symbolizes the Goddess of love and Muse of beauty, Erzulie. The man with a 17th century military hat and “savior” written above it represents either Toussaint L’Ouverture or Jean-Jaques Dessalines, both leaders in the revolution to defeat the French and gain independence as the first Black Republic in 1904. Scharsu’s Hounfour photo depicts how symbols deepen the meaning of the photo that the Africans still believe in many Gods similar to Ancient civilization’s beliefs.
The “Between Language and Geography” gallery exhibits an intriguing concept that words, signs, and symbols intensify the powers and implications of photos. Candace Scharsu’s colorful photography included words, signs, and symbols to strengthen the message about the problems occurring in places like Third World countries like Haiti and Uganda. Words, signs, and symbols do not just have a an impact in photos but have one in everyday life.