Can adding text effect our perceptions on a photograph?

Photography is a brilliant way to capture a scene or a moment in time, quickly recording what was happening at that moment in time, with just a click. However, photographs can often be misleading in what they are representing, leaving a red herring to what the true story is.

For example, Gillian Wearing shot a series of photographs of everyday public on the street holding signs, expressing a thought they are having, an emotion they are feeling, or basically giving them a chance to say something they have always wanted to say but been to embarrassed to. In the first image to the left, Wearing captured an image of a very well dressed young man, who if, if walked by in the street, people would assume had a good and happy life. However, with the sign in front of him claiming that he is 'desperate', our whole perspective on the model is changed. He is suddenly no longer the happy business man that we would perceive him as without the sign, thus our emotions and perception on the model has changed.

Another artist that uses the technique of adding text to change our concept of a photograph is Jim Goldberg. In his series named 'Raised by Wolves', he captured stories of runaway teenagers living on the streets of Los Angeles and San Fransisco. The tale of their lives of abuse, drugs, prostitution, and of their desires, fears, and loyalties is narrated by means of some 170 photographs, video and audio installations, documents, and objects in vitrines. There are also handwritten statements by runaways, adding emphasis and soul to the images. In the image to the left, Goldberg photographed a young boy, who ran away from home after issues relating with his parents. If the images were on their own, we would just see a skinny, malnourished figure,  with a few wounds. We would probably make the assumption that this person has had a hard life, but without the writing that accompanies it, we wouldn't have a true understanding of the pain and the emotion that that specific person was feeling at that time. "My mom was a 15 ye old junkie slut who I aint never seen. My old man is a biker from hell. The fucked up ass hole shot me in the gut when I was 12 yrs old, aint gone home since or had one" With this narration on the side of the photos, we see a completely different side to the boy. We truly see how hard life has been for him, and instead of just assuming a malnourishment and a little bit of a difficult life, we realise how truly disturbing his life has been. It adds an eerie feeling to the work, and gives viewers a sudden sense of sympathy, because the figure in the photo finally has a voice and a story.

Adding text to a photography, no matter if it is a secret, a story or just one word, can completely change original perceptions on what the image is representing. It gives the model or the scene a voice, and a way of speaking out, so the public doesn't have to imagine what the photo is about, or giving them the time to make inaccurate assumptions. It plays on our emotions, as well as making it last on the mind for a longer time.

Bibliography

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