Title: V-J Day in Times Square, New York, August 14, 1945 (Time Inc)
Artist: Alfred Eisenstaedt
What makes a photograph iconic? A basic
google search of the word icon defines it as a person or thing regarded as a representative
symbol of something. Based on this definition, an iconic photograph is a form
of representation for a culture or nation. Moreover, what makes a photograph
iconic depends on the subject and nature of the photograph. What it captures
and how the public receives it are both factors in what makes a photograph
iconic. By looking at a photograph, one immediately identifies the event or
place that it represents. With this in mind, iconic photographs embody a symbol for the viewer. It could be representative
of a historic time period, event, or culture. Additionally, iconic photographs
evoke an emotional reaction. They signify more than just a time in history, but
embody an emotion from sadness, grief, joy, or anger. As Antonin Kratochvil and
Michael Persson (2001) state in their article on photojournalism and
documentary photography, photographs “can invoke feelings, trigger thoughts,
and project perceptions to be pondered. And when it does, a photograph achieves
what imagery has always endeavored to do—it stirs emotion and leaves an
indelible impression.” For many American iconic photographs, they embody various
aspects of the public culture and history. “The V-J Day in Times Square”
photograph or “Times Square Kiss” by Alfred Eisenstaedt illustrates the
celebration of the end of World War II. Thus it becomes a representation of how
the U.S. public saw the end of the war – joyous event. Further, the photograph “captures
at least part of what the people experience when war, any war,
is ended” (Cosgrove, 2014). This photograph represents an iconic photograph
through the subject, the time of it and the place in which it is located. In
addition, the photograph demonstrates the role of the media in what makes
photographs iconic and represents controversies that can be seen in photographs
over time.
The two individuals being
unidentifiable when glancing at the photo makes them more the whole of America
in the 20th century rather than two specific people. The U.S. public
cannot see the faces of the individuals, rather they see themselves in the two.
For the viewer of the image, what becomes “important is not the individuality
of the kissers but who and what they can represent” (Hariman & Lucaites,
2007, p.129). They embody the American people and their joy for the end of the
war. Thus evoking a sense of joy and celebration whenever someone looks at the
image. Another significant aspect of the photograph is the day it was taken and
the period of American history it represents. Taken in August 1945 right after
it was announced that World War II had ended, it illustrates the American response
to the end of the war. The celebration of the end of such a war demonstrates an
iconic event in American history. By capturing
an intimate moment in a public place, the image “puts a face on the impromptu
civic festival of that day and on the moment when World War II became history,
a backdrop against which the nation would return from the struggle for life and
liberty to the pursuit of happiness” (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.123-4). Thus the photograph exemplifies this
iconic time in this nation’s history.
Furthermore, the location of the
photograph adds to what makes this photograph an iconic representation of U.S.
public culture. A brief glance at the image and one can identify the place as
Times Square in New York City. Nationally and globally, both Times Square and
New York City are icons of American culture. Even in the middle of the 20th
century these places represent significant places in the United States and its
people. As the background to this photograph of celebration, the location
becomes another aspect of why this image illustrates an identifiable depiction
of American history. In addition, the photograph triggers “a narrative of what
Life magazine's publisher Henry Luce called the "American Century" in
all its glory” (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.124). By embodying identity,
time, and place within the image, this photograph not only becomes a famous
photograph, but an iconic representation of 20th century America and
its people. For the American people, this image “remains the iconic image of
celebration at war’s end, a black-and-white bookend separating an era of
darkness from the beginning of a time of peace” (Berman, 2015).
Likewise, photojournalism
demonstrates a significant factor in how many photographs, such as “V-J Day in
Times Square”, become iconic photographs. Many iconic images come from “the
leading public art of the twentieth century, photojournalism” (Hariman &
Lucaites, 2007, p.123). As Susan Sontag (2002) states in her The New
Yorker article, “Looking at War”, “photojournalism came into its own in the
early nineteenforties—wartime.” Eisenstaedt’s photograph was first published in
Life magazine on August 27, 1945 in
an article “Victory Celebrations” (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.125). It was
the only image in the series of fourteen photographs entitled “The Men of War
Kiss from Coast to Coast” to be full page (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.125).The original popularity of the
photograph lead to it becoming the icon for “collective memory of a national
victory celebration” (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.125). By being featured in Life magazine, people across the nation easily
recognized it. The photograph engages the viewer and becomes personal for them.
And as Sontag (2002) identifies, this photograph like so many other iconic
photographs “provides a quick way of apprehending something and a compact form
for memorizing it. The photograph is like a quotation, or a maxim or proverb.”
Viewer can look at this photograph and easily identify it as the celebration of
the end of World War II.
Over the past 70 years the photograph
has been reproduced in various magazines and media outlets. It transcends time
as a photograph of celebration. Many regard Alfred Eisenstaedt as one of the
fathers of photojournalism (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007 p.124). He is well
known for his candid photographs such as this photograph of the end of war
celebration. And his photograph of V-J Day demonstrates a candid image of
American history. The photograph represents multiple aspects of the
photojournalism, such as “collective events are depicted via representative
individuals; social actors are offered for view rather than directly
confronting the viewer; private relationships are disclosed decorously within a
public medium (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.124). It illustrates like many
photographs that are a part of journalism an image that is “expected to arrest
attention, startle, surprise” (Sontag, 2002). Moreover the image shows no sign
of being manipulated by the photographer and “thus appears as a transparent
window on reality” (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.124). Consequently, this image remains one that
stands the test of time. Although it still remains a representation of
celebration in the United States, this photograph demonstrates many
controversies and the changing American culture.
Over the past several decades, several
issues with the “V-J Day in Times Square” photograph have sprung up. For the
photograph represents “visual incarnation of the most explicit tensions of the
historical period, not least the contradiction between collective security and
individual happiness” (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.124). The majority regard the image as one
of joy and celebration as well as a depiction of U.S. public culture. However,
many question the image. For some, the image documents a public sexual assault
(Cosgrove, 2014). For others, it illustrates a heterosexual culture of America
in the past. To demonstrate the growing changes in the nation’s culture, The New Yorker redid the image to
feature two men on one of their covers in 1996 (Hariman & Lucaites, 2007, p.131). The use of the image shows the
redefining of public culture and the changing meaning of the photograph over
time. As an iconic image it is supposed to engage the viewer and start
conversation. Although, originally a photograph depicting celebration, for
those outside of the United States it can be an image that evokes different
emotions rather than joy such as sadness or anger. For the Japanese, it shows how
the Americans celebrated the nuclear bombing of their cities. It demonstrates differing views of the end of
the war, those of the victors versus those who lost.
For
a photograph to be iconic, it needs to grab the viewer in some way and create a
reaction in him or her. The “V-J Day in Times Square” photograph does just
that. Viewers of it know it when they see it. The photograph has stood the test
of time because it captures a time in American history in which the nation
needed an image of joy and celebration. It becomes that image and furthermore
remains one that people discuss and question. Iconic photographs represent
photographs that remain popular and discussed because even though there
meanings may have changed they still remain a significant part of culture.
References
Berman, E. (2015, August 15). Go Behind the Lens of That Famous V-J Day Kiss in Times Square. Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://time.com/3983663/v-j-day-kiss-times-square/Cosgrove, B. (2015, August 1). V-J Day, 1945: A Nation Lets Loose. Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://time.com/3517476/v-j-day-1945-a-nation-lets-loose/
Hariman, R., & Lucaites, J. L. (2007). The Times Square Kiss: Iconic Photography and Civic Renewal in U.S. Public Culture. The Journal of American History, (1). 122.
Kratochvil, A., & Persson, M. (2001). Photojournalism and documentary photography: they are identical mediums, sending different messages. (Photography and the Written Word). Nieman Reports, (3), 27.
Master Photographers | Black and White Photojournalists. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2015, from http://www.monroegallery.com/photographers/detail/id/495
Sontag, Susan. (2002, September 12). Looking at War. The New Yorker.
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