Allan Sekula’s “The Body and the Archive”
Denise Johnson
SP21S AH-331-01
May 11th, 2021
Allan Sekula’s “The Body and the Archive”
Is photography meant for one sole purpose? If not, how many other themes can it be used for? These questions are discussed and answered in the article “The Body and the Archive” by the photographer Allan Sekula. In order to completely understand what Allan Sekula was describing in his article, one must know about the development of an “other” idea created by photography. Not only that, but a comparison between Alphonse Bertillion and Francis Galton’s work in photography will be needed in order to learn more about Sekula’s idea of the “paradoxical status of photography within bourgeois culture”[1]. All of these ideals combined gives us a direct conception of what Sekula describes in his article and it also allows the reader to relate to the type of photography that they would have at their own present time.
Allan Sekula’s idea of the “other” is no different than a variety of concepts that already exist. Some examples could include racism, disabilities, and even the simple term of being different. A pattern in all these terms is the discrimination of those who stray from the path of what one might call “normal”. Of Course however, the idea of the “other” is purely subjective to the one person identifying it. In reality, anyone can be included in the list of what is considered “other”. This idea directly intertwines with the global development of photography as Sekula states that “photography came to establish and delimit the terrain of the ‘other’, to define both the ‘generalized’ look - the typology - and the ‘contingent instance’ of deviance and social pathology”[2]. What Allan Sekula describes here is the creation of a discriminatory type of photography where photographers would take images of those that they considered strange. Essentially, it can be compared to the purpose of a “freakshow” where those with strange abnormalities are shown to the world. This pattern had truly begun to start when photographs were being used to “take medical and anatomical illustration”[3] as studies and images of those with different anatomical proportions or medical disabilities were released to the public eye. Even those in different social classes were included as a subject for the theme of “others”. However, a true, prime example would be from pictures of patients in mental asylums, where these images were used to record and display the physical appearance of crazed patients in an attempt to connect it to their unstable minds[4]. “Others” is still a theme that exists in the photographic world today as the internet is capable of sharing a variety of pictures and videos around the world; making it even easier to see those who are subjectively different from the viewer.
Photography, in essence, is known to act as a double edged sword. In the article, “The Body and the Archive”, Allan Sekula states “the photographic portrait in particular was welcome as a socially ameliorative as well as a socially repressive instrument”[5]. What set the foundation of this theme is the scientific idea of “Positivism”, originally brought to life by the 19th century philosopher: Auguste Comte. Essentially, positivism tries to derive a social trait through the use of undeniable evidence[6]; which in this case is the photographs themselves. A divide in the use of photography was thus developed by society: There were those that used photos as an artistic outlet in their own virtual mind, and then there were others that had used images for the sole purpose of scientific education and advancement. Yet although the purposes were different, the common theme of positivism existed throughout all of them as they were, at its base, undeniable visual proof.
The implications of positivism through pictures was especially used for human physiognomy in the 19th century. Johan Caspar Lavatar was one of the first people to isolate physiognomy, the specific features of one’s face, as a scientific element[7]. A study of distinct features on individual faces was developed, and the combination of both photography and physiognomy was eventually brought into action. As photography was capable of permanently printing out one’s individual face, it was an essential part in what the study of physiognomy essentially is. A great example would be its use in pictures of prisoners. By taking pictures of these subjects and adding descriptions of them, it would be easy for the public to identify the prisoners and others like them. Although this was a game breaking development in the use of photography, it also heightened racism and discrimination at the time as specific phsiognomy features could be connected to different races; creating an even stronger sense of hatred as these prisoners were seen in a negative context and were now connected to an entire race. As shown throughout history, photography was able to prove itself as beneficial to education and society, but it was at the cost of other people’s lives and worth.
Alphonse Bertillion’s anthropometric images and Francis Galton’s portraits were each developed in very similar ways; yet envelope different ideals based on the user’s preferences. Bertillon's introduction to photography began when he joined the police department. His job was to record any and all information on crimes and criminals that had been discovered by the police. Here Bertillon was able to develop and complete his own method of identifying subjects and connecting them to their crimes. The formula developed by Bertillon is basically in the form of what is widely known now as a “mugshot”, however he also included his own system of measurements in the descriptions of criminals. Small details like the size of one’s mouth or the length between eyebrows was described throughout each mugshot; helping the department keep track of which criminal was which[8]. However, due to the lack of efficient equipment at the time, the use of measurements was soon replaced by fingerprint identification.
Francis Galton used similar photography techniques as Alphonse Bertillion when taking pictures of others. In fact, the mugshots taken by each of them were almost exactly alike as it would usually include one front profile and a side profile of the subject at hand. Although Galton did use this technique for criminals at first, he later used this photographic technique for something that was called “eugenics”. This was the idea of creating a perfect human through genetic composition of a specific human society. A basic idea of it was that Galton was trying to create one singular, exact reference of an entire race, group, or class of people[9]. Another idea developed by Galton was the use of fingerprint identification; which actually replaced Bertillon’s use of metric measurements in the original mugshots.
When comparing the two photographers, Sekula specifically states, “The projects of Bertillon and Galton constitute two methodological poles of the positivist attempts to define and regulate social deviance”[10]. Although they were one and the same in the style of photography, their methods of use are completely different. Bertillon sought to find the difference between each and every subject; searching for individual features and measurements that would allow him to differentiate the person from others. Galton instead used the images to try and connect all of the people into one sole image. He did not want to individualize like Bertillon, but instead wished to connect populations of people into what he believed to be the genetically perfect representation of a group. It is in fact interesting that these two photographers had originally used the mugshot technique for the same purpose, and yet strayed into two polar opposite paths of purposes.
One main idea Sekula discussed that can be related to today’s society is that photography will always be both a blessing and a curse to society. It has the capacity to save happy memories in a single camera, the ability to record historical moments that will have changed the world, and advances scientific studies to completely different recordable levels. Yet, it also develops harmful stereotypes on undeserving people, punishes those who were born different, and creates propaganda that could infect people’s minds. A specifically huge problem is the idea of one’s privacy, especially in today’s era. With technology being able to capture accurate photos from miles away, the question of one’s right to privacy is put into place, and ends up putting almost everyone in danger. Although it may never be possible to rid of the cons of photography, the benefits continue to push humanity towards new limits and will continue to do so forever.
Overall, Sekula’s interpretation and descriptions of photography in the article “The Body and the Archive” helps the reader understand the diverse history and usage of photography to what it is now today. The article shows what types of photography was prevalent in its early stages of development, whether it be in the vague idea of “positivism”, its use in physiognomy, or the accurate depictions of a mugshot. Sekula shows the positive and negative connotations of each ideal, thus developing a balanced, unbiased theme of photography that still applies to the photography of today’s world.
[1] Allan Sekula, The Body and the Archive (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1986), 1 https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/778312.pdf
[2] Sekula, The Body and the Archive, 7
[3] Sekula, The Body and the Archive, 7
[4] Harding, Colin. “D Is for... Dr. Hugh Welch Diamond: Photography and the Pseudoscience of Physiognomy.” National Science and Media Museum blog. Science+ Media Museum, April 27, 2020. https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/a-z-photography-collection-hugh-welch-diamond/
[5] Sekula, The Body and the Archive, 8
[6] Crossman, Ashley. “Positivism's Role in the Study of Sociology.” ThoughtCo, July 14, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/positivism-sociology-3026456
[7] Sekula, The Body and the Archive, 11
[8] “Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body: Galleries: Biographies: Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914).” U.S. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, June 5, 2014. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/visibleproofs/galleries/biographies/bertillon.html
[9] “Metmuseum.org.” Composite Portraits of Criminal Types. Accessed May 12, 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/301897
[10] Sekula, The Body and the Archive, 19