"Photography's Expanded Field" - Sierra

George Baker’s “Photography’s Expanded Field” was a very difficult article to get through. He writes with such complex diction that I found myself having to read certain sections repeatedly. Even after rereading, I still do not feel that I completely understood the article. However, I do agree with Baker’s statement “the world of contemporary art seems rather to have moved on, quite literally, to a turn that we would now have to call cinematic rather than photographic” (203). Cinematic elements can be detected in many postmodern photographs. Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills” series provides evidence to back up Baker’s statement. I believe that photographers began photographing from a cinematic point of view because a greater story can be told this way. This seems to be because the viewer associates the images with a film, and, in doing so, becomes aware of the idea that the image does not stand alone, but is surrounded by other elements that help portray its story. This allows the photographer to convey a stronger message through the image.
Baker also writes about the concept of mounting speakers near an image so the photo becomes “a picture where the condition of ‘talking’ has been taken as far as it can go” (217). I understand this might assist in conveying the photographer’s message and idea, but the idea of viewing a photograph while speakers are generating background noise is a bit odd. I feel that this would almost detract from the image because I find it easier to view images when it is quiet, for staring at a picture in complete silence stimulates more thought and is free from distractions. Overall, I felt this article was talking about many concepts that I could not fully understand.