Into the Image World
I remember seeing Sam Taylor Johnson’s self-portrait at the National Portrait Gallery many years ago on a trip to the UK before my permanent move to England. I wasn’t particularly interested in studying photography at the time and also not familiar with much contemporary or conceptual photography (my native country Romania was still slowly catching up with the world after decades of totalitarian darkness which meant very limited exposure to international art) so the encounter with this image was in-passing and not particularly memorable. It must have stayed with me though as almost 20 years later it was instantly recognisable as I research female self-portraiture for my own project and have taken the time to study the context of the artist and the image.
Thinking back at the time I first saw this image, I do not think that I have seen its title, or had any knowledge of the artist and hence my experience was almost 100% a perception of the ‘surface reality’ depicted, despite being somewhat intrigued by the presence of the stuffed animal which was the only element in the image that was more ‘out of place’ compared to the rest.
Now I can relate to Barthes’ view that accompanying text provides, for an image, ‘anchorage to the meaning of the image, that the caption permits me to focus not only my gaze, but also my understanding’. Looking at the image again knowing its title ‘Self-portrait in Single-breasted Suit with Hare’ opens more avenues for me to decode the original message that the artist intended.
Researching more about the context of the author’s personal life, the message completes its journey from the author’s intention to my interpretation, now knowing of her battle with breast cancer and experience of undergoing mastectomy as well as the side effects of chemotherapy such as losing her hair (pun most probably intended).
But how important was that I knew all this context and what other meaning could I have attributed to this image at the time? How about now, almost 20 years later?
Sam Taylor (Wood) Johnson Self-Portrait in Single-breasted Suit with Hare 2001
Barthes talks about the ‘death of the author’ which is inevitable for the ‘birth of the reader’ (Image Music Text 1977). But is the dichotomy so fundamental or is the entire journey one of two-way nuanced transference? In other words, the photographer embeds or encodes meaning into the image - some of this is conscious, a lot more may be subconscious. The viewer, upon seeing the image and forming their own interpretation may well put their own conscious or sub-conscious elements into the act of perception and understanding, alongside any meaning that was ‘successfully’ decoded or translated based on the signs used by the author.
Andreea Elle Vas Foreign Artist 2020
This image included in my previous work in progress portfolio was titled ‘Foreign Artist’. The series of self-portraits I made was symbolic of one or another aspect of my personality or personal history. In this instance I remembered that when I was a little girl, that’s what I would say when asked what I wanted to become when I grew older and I wanted to capture that sentiment. Constructing the image with wardrobe items from a theatre costume wardrobe and capturing this in a performative way, not engaging with the camera, added to the story.
I recently revisited this image as I started to think about creating new images for my self-portraiture project but also trying to decide exactly how to ‘code’ and ‘convey’ the information going forward.
In particular, for me it was interesting to explore what this image might say to other viewers without any indication of its intended meaning or even a title. Having shared this with friends via social media I received a number of comments:
‘Looking at your photograph is like travelling in time through the dreams. Not only is it highly creative but thought provoking giving us the chance to look at ourselves from a different perspective... it made me think who I would like to see in my own magic mirror.’
‘It’s such an insightful image. No matter what we wear we think it could have been different. The if only...’
‘The mirror of time past, very thought provoking. How amazing would it be to click your fingers and do this in real life. Seeing your past family, a little piece from every generation.’
‘It’s beautiful! Like a ‘reflection’ of how society has changed and women have changed regarding fashion.’
‘Something about this particular image is really intriguing, makes me think about how women have changed, but also how the perception of what women should be has changed over time.’
All of a sudden the meaning of my image was enriched by the meaning placed upon it by different viewers. The plurality of its interpretations does not stop in a temporal fashion either, and even my own interpretation of this image evolves, as I discover other viewers perceptions as well as evolve as an individual and thus providing a forever-changing reference framework.
