The end of iconic images?

What makes an image iconic? Will there be or can there be as many iconic images as there were in the 20th century?

These were some questions asked and debated a couple of weeks ago at a rendez-vous put together by Reporters Without Borders of Canada. The panelists included photographers Roger LeMoyne, Jaques Nadeau and Conrad Duroseau from Montreal, along with Vincent Lavoie, professor of history of photography at UQUAM, Katherine Borlongan the Executive Director for Reporters Without Borders of Canada and the special guest was National Geographic photographer Reza.

The panel was mostly made up of photojournalists. So my train of thought here is inspired by what was talked about. I will focus on photojournalists as the genre of photography. This could relate to other genres but I’ll keep it focused on this one.

Death of a Loyalist Soldier ©Robert Capa

Death of a Loyalist Soldier ©Robert Capa

Photography used to be a medium for photographers, in the sense that photography was not a very accessible medium where a camera wasn’t as easily accessible as it is today. Now, even if you don’t want a camera you have one, you just have to buy a cell phone. Photographers that consciously set out to document a war were few and far between. The photographers and photographs, which stick out in my mind and probably in many other minds are: Robert Capa Death of a Loyalist Soldier, Eddie Adams, Street execution of a Vietnam prisoner, Nick Ut, Children Fleeing an American Napalm Strike. These images have been reproduced and referred to since they have been created. So not even knowing the name of the photograph or the photographer, if simply explained, one could probably visualize the image. This makes the photograph quite profound.

Today with the amount of photographers setting off to war torn countries along with the journalists, medical aid and soldiers that bring their own cameras with them, make for an incredible amount of images created. Images, which were once set off to be processed and edited, are now uploaded to servers immediately, after the moment has been captured, and shortly after uploaded to a website and/or printed. Today it’s all about efficiency, then the moment and the essence of the photograph. The respect for the entire process and the image as a final result comes after. In all those hundreds/thousand of images captured by the photojournalists leads me to question, what are we missing? a part of the truth? or even more, a better photograph? one that could possibly make a lasting impression across generations? Today there is an overload of imagery, a bombardment of images where, I think, images don’t have room to grow and stay. Not like the iconic images of Capa, Ut and Adams and I don’t think those times will ever come back. For now anyways, it’s a series of images from a series of photojournalists, of amateur photographers and citizen-journalists that will make up our visual history.

So, is it the end of iconic images? Or has it just become that much more challenging for the photojournalists to make their images stand out from the rest of them?

— by on May 06, 2009. Filed under Opinion

About Aislinn

Aislinn Leggett

Aislinn Leggett is a Montreal-based visual artist. You can learn more about her work on her website and on her personal blog. You can also follow her Twitter @aislinnleggett and on Facebook.


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    • http://www.rapporteursphoto.com Patrick

      I was at that same rendez-vous, I thought it was interesting, although the place got a little over crowded and it was hard to ear at times …

      I wonder if the images you mention where overnight ‘sensations’ (once they where processed and finally published) or if time as given them that icon status.

      Despite being bombarded by images every day, I still feel that some rise above. If we are still talking about them in five or ten years, still reproducing them, will it make them iconic?

      • Aislinn

        Patrick,

        I agree the event got a bit crowded and hard to hear.

        I don’t think the images I talked about where an overnight success. Maybe though, if these images where taken today, it would be just another war photograph. But considering the times that they were taken in and yes the years they’ve had to grow and with being used and referred to often, they’ve become iconic. Iconic when they were first published, maybe not. But all these images have a strong story. Before it was shot and after.

        I’m not saying that in five, ten years we won’t have iconic images, or that there are presently no prominent images being published. I just think that they’re might be more of a series of images from different photographers that will mark a period, because of the amount of photographers and images that exist today. The images of Capa, Adams and Ut probably had more impact, where as today, because of the amount of images seen, that impact of one image is less.

        There’s also the media that weighs in heavily to determine an image or images that portray these times. (that could probably be a whole other discussion). Will the images used, in five, ten years, be the photographs that are the most compelling…I guess that’s to find out, only time will give the answer.

    • http://alvason.wordpress.com/ Adam Pearson

      Hi Aislinn

      If I think of recent significant events in the last 10 years, I cannot recall any “iconic” images. Well, maybe one – the guy falling from high up in one of the devastated twin towers, 9/11. And then, one more – the folk in the street looking back and trying to run from the cloud of demolition at the other end of the street. But even “9/11″ as an event or series of events, to my memory now, is a bit like a newsreel of images, or one compendium image. So, this major event – one or two iconic images, the rest lick a flicker of a TV.

      The Iraq disaster – the image (allegedly staged) of the pulling down of Hussein’s statute is icnonic, the one of the discovery of Hussein in a bunker … the rest – an amalgam.

      I think with all these cameras out there and the massive influence of the media, there will be fewer and fewer iconic images in future, photographers will have too much competition. The influence of the media is getting more overwhelming.

      Photographers will need to go up the Amazon and snap some marvel of nature or some such thing to achieve an iconic image.

      Too much white noise these days.

      Adam

      • http://www.aislinnleggett.com aislinn

        Adam,

        These are all really good points, which a lot of these were touched on during the event. Visual media is changing. This is not a bad thing, just how it’s changing is something to be aware of.

    • http://alvason.wordpress.com/ Adam Pearson

      Post script: that image of Obama is iconic but it is a poster – know the one I mean? The one by Stephen Fairey.

      Adam

      • http://www.aislinnleggett.com aislinn

        Yes of course THE poster! Actually the illustration by Stephen Fairey was inspired (or copied)from a photograph of The Associated Press. http://is.gd/iZzz
        Yes the image and the story will definitely be marked in visual history, an iconic image for sure. But, it’s the illustration that was widely seen and used not the actual photograph.

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