TY - JOUR
T1 - The ascent of the falling man
T2 - Establishing a picture's iconicity
AU - Kroes, Rob
AU - Orvell, Miles
AU - Nadel, Alan
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Why is it that some photographs have a power of epic concentration, condensing larger moments in history into one iconic image? This piece about the photography of 9/11 addresses this question. Its focus is on one photograph in particular, Richard Drew's image of the Falling Man. Central to the argument is the awareness of a paradox: to explore something quintessentially photographic the force of images that give them iconic power using a medium for reflection and communication that is inherently non-photographic: i.e. language. The author aims at accounting for the fascination of Drew's image, in a struggle to find words to describe its impact. To that end he looks at how others the photographer himself, and other creative minds, in essay form, fiction or graphic novels have translated their fascination into language that may help us account for the way this image continues to haunt us.
AB - Why is it that some photographs have a power of epic concentration, condensing larger moments in history into one iconic image? This piece about the photography of 9/11 addresses this question. Its focus is on one photograph in particular, Richard Drew's image of the Falling Man. Central to the argument is the awareness of a paradox: to explore something quintessentially photographic the force of images that give them iconic power using a medium for reflection and communication that is inherently non-photographic: i.e. language. The author aims at accounting for the fascination of Drew's image, in a struggle to find words to describe its impact. To that end he looks at how others the photographer himself, and other creative minds, in essay form, fiction or graphic novels have translated their fascination into language that may help us account for the way this image continues to haunt us.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=81255136404&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=81255136404&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0021875811000995
DO - 10.1017/S0021875811000995
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:81255136404
SN - 0021-8758
VL - 45
SP - e47
JO - Journal of American Studies
JF - Journal of American Studies
IS - 4
ER -