In "Bending the Frame," Fred Ritchin--Professor of Photography & Imaging at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and author of "After Photography"--examines the complex relations between social justice and photojournalism in today's oversaturated political and media climates. Is visual journalism even effective at all, given the ease with which so many of us can simply record events? And how can the impact of iconic images from the Civil Rights Movement or the Vietnam War be compared to, say, the consequences of leaked images from Abu Ghraib? Do changes in strategy imply changes in accountability and responsibility for visual journalism as a whole? Ritchin intends his discussion--which ranges across new media but also includes uses of video as well as a wide range of books and exhibitions--to provide critical tools with which to approach the various efforts of today's visual (and "citizen") journalists and documentary photographers. He also examines the historical uses of photography and related media to inspire social change, the better to pose the critical question that lies at the heart of his book: How can images promote new thinking and make a difference in the world?
How can contemporary image makers promote new thinking and make a difference in the world?
Bending the Frame, Fred Ritchin’s third book on the future of the photographic medium, immerses the reader in the complex new ecosystem of the image and poses a series of critical questions that are relevant to today’s image makers and readers alike. He begins by asking: “What do we want from this media revolution? Not just where is it bringing us, but where do we want to go? When the pixels start to settle, where do we think we should be in relationship to media—as producers, subjects, viewers? Since all media inevitably change us, how do we want to be changed?”
To help us consider possible answers, Ritchin provides historical grounding for alternative modes of visual storytelling as well as a host of new and emerging strategies to explore the world in more complex, thoughtful, and useful ways. If there are some one billion people roaming the world with cellphone cameras, he asks, what might the role of the professional photographer be? Might there be an urgent need for a metaphotography that contextualizes and makes sense of the myriad images already online? More pointedly, if there is a photography of war, shouldn’t there also be a photography of peace?
Does photojournalism matter? By Richin's account, its role has shifted but not shrunk in our media - saturated world.--Jack Crager"American Photo" (11/01/2013)
