Connotation - An idea or feeling associated or interpreted from a denotation.
Denotation - The literal or primary meaning of something e.g. an action, a word.
Punctum - A distinct feature that draws attention from the viewer most compared to everything else.
Studium - A Latin word meaning 'study'. A studium indicates historical, cultural, and or social meanings in a photo. It is also a first impression for a photo before deeper analysis.
Mendal Grossman
This fine art piece is shot by the well renowned photographer Mendal Grossman, it is of two children, one dressed in tattered clothes, the other behind the boy and dressed in what appears to be a uniform, with a symbol strapped to his arm. Their surroundings appear industrial, similar to factories, with a long chimney pipe stretched out at the far back behind the children; there also being fencing to border off the buildings, suggesting they are restricted, further supporting the idea that they in an industrial area. Mendal pursued his passion by capturing Jews out on the streets (’slums’) and eventually the ghetto once he had to move with his whole family in a small flat in the ghetto. He had many projects, one being a charity portfolio on poor Jewish children on the streets, this photo potentially presenting that. But his final project that he kept pursuing till he died in a death march, was to record the life and tragedy in the ghetto during the holocaust. Mendal would present the suffering that people possessed in the ghetto, so this photo appears to be out of the ordinary with his work due to the smile on the child in uniform’s face and the simplicity of the photo; with no misery in sight at first glance.
For this photo, the studium is simply children role playing with authority figures, suggested by the child in uniform holding the child in poor clothing, and holding a bat to his arm; a pure game to children. In the ghettos, there were Jewish Police Forces who were elite Jews who agreed to police their communities in exchange for privileges. So, this photo’s original purity is now tainted by the power of authority; in order for families to be comfortable or even safe, people had to have jobs of authority, once again leaving restriction. Nonetheless, the children's intentions and minds are still pure, the child in uniform could've borrowed his father's armband and clothing for such roleplay. The distinct feature in this photo (punctum) is the smile of the child in the uniform, there is a sense of brazen and pride within his grin, suggesting he is shameless and proud to have this authority over other children; showing satisfaction with power. The poor child’s expression appears empty, as though this has happened before and he feels nothing from it anymore, suggesting this child could be troublesome and therefore he is told off by the authorities a lot.
Mendal took his photos out on the streets in secrecy since having such a possession and documenting the tragedies around was not allowed in ghetto rules and punishable by death. He would wear a large coat and have the camera underneath it strapped to his neck. There would be a slight parting in his coat in which the camera lens could peak through and capture Mendal’s surroundings. There’d be holes cut into his pockets so he could adjust and direct the camera so he could capture at any moment under his coat to be unseen by Nazis. This was Mendal’s only way to capture his photos and it worked very well; Mendal was never caught out with his camera. To capture the photo above with this method must’ve been quick in timing, it appears the boy in uniform is aware of the camera in Mendal’s coat and smiles almost to acknowledge whoever views the photo that he knew. The composition almost appears deliberate as if Mendal had these boys pose this way for the photo specifically and quickly captured it before it appeared suspicious to anyone.
Fine Art Vs Commercial Photography
Fine Art - creative art, especially visual art whose products are to be appreciated primarily or solely for their imaginative, aesthetic, or intellectual content.
Commercial Photography - Commercial photography means taking photos for commercial use, meaning for business, sales, money, etc. Commercial photography is often associated with advertisements, sales pitches, brochures, product placements as well as merchandising.
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