83) Antiphotojournalism

Yesterday, on my way to La Boqueria I stumbled upon La Virreina Centre de l’Image, a contemporary art center focused on the exhibition of cultural policy. It is self-described as, “a site where images and culture reveal the circumstances behind their very production and distribution.” I can’t think of a better description for their current exhibition, Antifotoperiodisme, or Antiphotojournalism.

The collection, curated by artist and art critic Carles Guerra, is a fascinating self-reflection and questioning of modern photojournalism. The works, which span several different types of media, examine the ways in which new practices, strategies, viewpoints and technology are challenging the seemingly unquestionable way we receive news. As Guerra describes, there are certain mores of photojournalism - the stereotypical “hero” photographer who puts himself in the middle of the action in order to bear witness, sending truthful reports of sometimes terrible events back to a distant public. The idea of the faithful capturing of the “reality” in the hopes of creating an iconic image to which the rest of the world can relate. Antiphotojournalism - a phrase coined by American artist, writer and critic Allan Sekula - is a systematic critique of these cliches.

Besides showcasing some evolving attitudes of the photos esthetics (for example, increasing acceptance of out of focus images), the exhibition demonstrates how new technology and distribution methods are democratizing the field of photojournalism. One example is crowd-sourced videos, which often allow for a more up close and unedited recording of an event. In their rough execution, they provide a level of raw transparency that traditional photojournalists cannot match. Proliferation of crowd-sourced news can be seen in CNN's iReport, ABC's i-CAUGHT, Fox New's UReport. The fact that every news source has a corresponding user generated news site is reflective of the antiphotojournalism renaissance and its questioning of the status quo.