San Miguel Art magazine/ San+Miguel+Art+magazine%2FOctober+ | Page 20

It´s A
Fake
alTirado has graciously asked me to write a monthly column of
which this will be the first «or last depending on its reception»
Since I am a photographer, the subject goes without saying;
however, I will not discuss cameras, lenses, or gear, which
there are many good resources. My interests, and hopefully
yours revolve around the progression of the medium and its
impact on society.
by the advertising industry
to persuade or dissuade,
forgiving those transgressions
of change to suit our own
needs and desires. In that
regard, we sometimes view
images as spectators in a P.T.
Barnum Side Show, viewing
the half-man, half-goat without
really questioning the integrity
of the subject; allowing our
Since its inception, and
mindful inventiveness to
after Nicéphore Niépce
interpret the scene, judging its
affixed the first permanent
reality.
photographic images in 1826, Image manipulation is
it would be decades before
not a new phenomenon to
the technology to couple
photography, and throughout
images with text on a printed history, an unassuming public
page could be accomplished. has been misled by visual
In less than two-hundred
information thought to be
years, photography has
accurate; note the famous
become our best medium
image of Abraham Lincoln
to capture history, creating
whose head was transposed to
the indelible fact, considered the body of another politician.
undeniable and solid in its
I will not speak of ‘ethics’
content. As viewers, we
in photography which is a
have become accustomed
much debated and subjective
to believing what we see,
topic and may be discussed
the image instantaneously
further down the road, or of its
stamping an impression into
interpretation by the media, but
our consciousness available
rather of its current evolution
for interpretation by the
into the “digital age”.
viewer.
With “digital technology” came
As consumers, we
a new skill to manipulate
have adapted to the
images, some as subtle as
“subtle changes” created
these Time & Newsweek
cover photos of O.J. where
Time Magazine has darkened
his complexion to convey a
“more sinister character”; and
Time again, adding a “tear
drop” to Ronald Reagan’s
profile. Others, more dramatic
as in this TV Guide 1989
cover featuring Oprah. Here,
Oprah´s head has been
transposed to the body of
glamour actress Ann Margaret
as well as the pile of cash she
sits upon.
Image forgery is not new
to the realm of modern politics
as seen here in a digital
composite of Sen. John Kerry