The Meaning of Family Photographs
The Meaning of Family Photographs
By Charles Williams
|[pic] |
|Vanek family members dance. |
The family is on vacation. A father takes out his point-and-shootcamera, poses his wife and kids and takes a quick snapshot. Eventually, the photograph is filed away in the family photo album. Ameaningless activity? Maybe not. Everyday, thousands of familyphotographs are taken with little regard for the meaning of therecorded image.
Much attention has been paid to scholars ' views ofdomestic life. However, relatively little attention has been paid tocultural productions, such as photo albums, that have been generatedby families themselves (Trend, 1992). By neglecting discussion onthis subject, scholars indicate that the home is not a place ofserious academic work (Trend, 1992). But researchers increasingly arestudying the meaning behind the photographs.
April Saul won firstplace in the Feature Picture Story category at the 1992 Pictures ofthe Year competition for her portrayal of the American family. Shebelieved that family struggles were an important topic of journalism. "I hope what it [winning] means is that the everyday struggles of anAmerican family are as valid in their own way as the struggles goingon in Azerbajian or Sarajevo -- and that the private wars next doorcan be as compelling as the bloody, public ones thousands of milesaway."
Family photographs can be considered cultural artifacts becausethey document the events that shape families ' lives. Thus, therecording of family history becomes an important endeavor. In manycases, photographs are the only biographical material people leavebehind after they die (Boerdam, Martinius, 1980). But, the impact offamily photo albums extends beyond merely recording history. Interpretation of family structures, relationships and self ispossible through viewing family photographs.
The Meaning of family photographs
By Charles Williams
|[pic] |
|Vanek family members dance. |
The family is on vacation. A father takes out his point-and-shootcamera, poses his wife and kids and takes a quick snapshot. Eventually, the photograph is filed away in the family photo album. Ameaningless activity? Maybe not. Everyday, thousands of familyphotographs are taken with little regard for the meaning of therecorded image.
Much attention has been paid to scholars ' views ofdomestic life. However, relatively little attention has been paid tocultural productions, such as photo albums, that have been generatedby families themselves (Trend, 1992). By neglecting discussion onthis subject, scholars indicate that the home is not a place ofserious academic work (Trend, 1992). But researchers increasingly arestudying the meaning behind the photographs.
April Saul won firstplace in the Feature Picture Story category at the 1992 Pictures ofthe Year competition for her portrayal of the American family. Shebelieved that family struggles were an important topic of journalism. "I hope what it [winning] means is that the everyday struggles of anAmerican family are as valid in their own way as the struggles goingon in Azerbajian or Sarajevo -- and that the private wars next doorcan be as compelling as the bloody, public ones thousands of milesaway."
Family photographs can be considered cultural artifacts becausethey document the events that shape families ' lives. Thus, therecording of family history becomes an important endeavor. In manycases, photographs are the only biographical material people leavebehind after they die (Boerdam, Martinius, 1980). But, the impact offamily photo albums extends beyond merely recording history. Interpretation of family structures, relationships and self ispossible through viewing family photographs.
The Meaning of family photographs
References: Boerdam, Jaap and Warna Oosterbaan Martinius. (Oct, 1980). "Family Photographs - A Sociological Approach," The Netherlands Journal of Sociology, v16, n2, pp. 95-119. Gardner, Saundra. (May, 1991). "Exploring the Family Album: Social Class Differences in Images of Family Life," Sociological Inquiry, v61, n2, pp. 242-251. Halle, David. (Summer, 1991). "Displaying the Dream: The Visual Presentation of Family and Self in the Modern American Household," Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 22: pp. 217-229. Kaslow, Florence. (Summer, 1979). "What Personal Photos Reveal About Marital Sex Conflicts," Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 5: pp. 134-141. Merz, Caroline. (August, 1988). "Smile, please," New Statesman & Society, v1, n10, p. 42. Musello, Christopher. (1980). "Studying the Home Mode: An exploration of Family Photography and Visual Communication," Studies in Visual Communication, v6, n1, pp.23-42. Saul, April. (August, 1992). "Compelling stories of 'private wars next door '," News Photographer, p.45. Schwartz, Dona. (1992). "Waucoma Twilight: Generations of the Farm," Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Taylor, Laurie. (August, 1993). "Camera Obscura," New Statesman & Society, v6:p. 21. Titus, Sandra L. (August, 1976). "Family Photographs and Transition to Parenthood," Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38: 525-530. Trend, David. (Feb, 1992). "Look who 's talking: Narratives of Family Representations," Afterimage, v19, n7, p.8.