ON THE BOUNDRY BETWEEN ART AND JOURNALISM: ARTISTIC ASPECTS OF PROTEST AND DEMONSTRATION PHOTOGRAPHS
SANAT VE HABERCİLİĞİN SINIRINDA-PROTESTO VE GÖSTERİ FOTOĞRAFLARININ SANATSAL BOYUTU

Author : İsmail Erim GÜLAÇTI
Number of pages : 161-175

Abstract

Using literature review method, this qualitative study examines the photographic and contextual reasons as well as artistic and aesthetic aspects that distinguish photographs with fundamental journalism concerns and media standards from those that do not have these aspects by focusing on the photographs of protest and demonstrations taken all in the world and Turkey alike in recent history. Following a theoretical discussion related to the relationship between photography and journalism as well as the artistic expression of these concepts with specific reference to the design principles of photography, the artistic aspect of these photographs and the photographic techniques creating that aspect are examined via several protest and demonstration photographs taken at various times and places that exemplify the aesthetic expression. Whether it is a simple protest or an extensive demonstration, photojournalists start with wide shots aiming to answer the fundamental questions that provide the news value for the photographs. What follows these wide shots is close-up shots that show who protests what for what reason, thus trying to clarify the protestors’ wishes and examples of these shots include those of banners and posters. Apart from these photographs, a further item is a symbol, such as the flag of the country where the protest was held, or the monumental buildings, which shows to the national and international viewers where the protest and demonstration was organized. The last item that photojournalists bring together in a photograph of a protest or a demonstration regarding journalism and aesthetic values is the collective passion or ‘energy’ of the protest, as reflected in the number of people attending and shouting slogans, with their fists in the air and their banners, which gives its own characters to the protest. This study also clarifies that protest and demonstration photographs are the result of their artistic preferences and journalism mission to be a witness to those protests and demonstrations. This blended strategy by which artistic expressions lead to different points of view results in stronger and striking photographs.

Keywords

Photography, Art, Journalism, Protest, Aesthetics

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