In Fred Turner’s article, The Family of Man and the Politics of Attention in Cold War America he attempts to explain the significance of one museum exhibit, how it came about, and what kind of impact it had on the world. There is a old saying that a photo can be worth a thousand words. That statement rings true in many cases, a photograph can change someones perspective, spark strong emotion in you, and help you to gain a better understanding about a certain subject. The United States wanted to promote democracy unity without implanting a totalitarian mind-set in American citizens. They did this through the use of photographic art.
The Family of Man Exhibit, now residing in a castle in Clervaux, Luxembourg became an incredible landmark because of the understand viewers were able to walk away with after experiencing the museum photographs. Turner states that the Family of Man is, “An exhibition of 503 photographs of men, women, and children, made by 273 photographers from around the world…” (pg 55). The photographs put together are about to encompass people around the world. What makes the Family Man exhibit so special is the fact that the photographs intertwined together allow the ability to reach out to people from all different backgrounds and cultures. To show how many people the exhibit was about to affect Turner said, “The Family of Man quickly became on of the most popular exhibitions in the museum’s history and quite likely the most widely seen collection of photographs every created” (pg 56).
I found it incredible to read how the exhibit was designed by Herbert Bayer to best benefit the viewers. Bayer had labored in Germany as a student and then became an instructor of design. He also worked as an exhibition designer (Turner pg 66). Bayer took a different approach when setting up the exhibit. Conventional exhibition practice suggested that he should put everything at eye level. Instead, he believed that the viewers should be surrounded and overwhelmed by the material. In todays age, it does not seem that surprising or impressive, but back then, it played a major factor in why the Family Man was so successful (Turner pg 68).
The one thing that stuck out to me in the article was how photographs could have an incredibly impact in understanding human rights. When somebody went though the Family of Man there were able to come out the other side with a different perspective.
A single picture can say a great deal. Still the human experience will all ways be difficult to sum up. If the exhibit did help people then that is good. Though it is doubtful that the impact was that great.
Christopher Jackson
A picture can say a great deal about the people in it. But at the end of the day, is it truly how these people interacted with others? Like an artist on a canvas, cameramen and women were able to pose the people they wanted in the pictures and whoa and what that was portrayed. Of course, it is the viewer who had the final interpretation of how the pictures were seen, but people who made the pictures already heavily influenced their fillings by with just the act of positioning the camera for the shot, asking people to pose for the picture and other alterations. So at the end of the day, whose interpretation is really being shown to the world? Ours or the photographers and the producers?
I agree with you about the impact that a photograph can have. As they say a picture is worth a thousand worlds, which is why art has the impact it does. Humans are inherently visual and as a result photos can deeply affect those viewing them.
I agree with you – its very amazing how much impact these photos have. Do you think the government had any say how this exhibit was curated or what images were chosen. If so, why might the U.S. want this ideal to broadcasted?
Your emphasis on the value of photos really helps to pick out the significance of this piece to post-war society. It was interesting how the artist(s) decided to focus on the positive aspects of humanity to promote human rights instead of denouncing the “evils” of the Axis powers which usually serve as a contrast to work off of. One thing to improve on would be to check over grammar and wording before submitting.