Tuesday 19 February 2008

Image vs. text - emotion vs. intellect?

Herlinde Koelbl is one of the most renowned contemporary news photographers in Europe. In a thoughtful dispute with German advertisement guru Sebastian Turner for the christian magazine "Chrismon" she reflects on the power of pictures. Asked what is more important text or picture she states (in my rough translation):

"Of course the picture is more important. It's the picture that adresses us directly. With it's emotions, it's meaningfulness. The word works via intellect. And there are so many events, where we only remember the picture and not the word. Nevertheless many of my works wouldn't be conceivable without text. Anyhow I prepare myself carefully for each new subject by reading. Reading is crucial to me in order to understand and later introduce this into my photos."

No comments: