Sequence

Iraq War Sequence  (click in the image for a larger version)
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To see the individual images follow these links: Photo 1;  Photo 2; Photo 3

Thoughts on Image Sequence

In the past several days I have been thinking about sequencing, or the order in which images appear. This has long been a powerful tool that photographers have used in exhibitions, books, and other presentations of their work. Of all the still visual arts (i.e., pieces that do not contain motion, such as films or videos), photography is perhaps the best suited for the use of sequencing to deliver a certain idea or message, or reinforce an underlying conceptual theme. This is not to say, of course, that collections of paintings, sculpture or other visual art cannot benefit from creative sequencing, but I think that with photography it is more natural and expected.

Sequencing has long been a part of the photographic representation of the world. A few well known examples are the early motion studies of Eadweard Muybridge, the photo essays that were pioneered by Life magazine in the 1930s, and the short visual narratives of Duane Michaels.

In addition to conscious before-the-fact sequencing, that is, creating photographs that you know will be presented in a certain order (the images of Duane Michaels are a good example of this), there is also conscious after-the-fact sequencing, or arranging images in a specific order even though they were not necessarily photographed with that in mind. This latter method is most commonly used when photographers or curators arrange images for a presentation or an exhibition. On a more everyday level, we have all done this by arranging our images for a slide show, be it the old fashioned kind with actual slides, or the more modern digital equivalent using photo viewing software.

A third type of sequencing activity would be unconscious arrangements, where a sequence is created, either in the camera or after the fact, with no conscious attempt at creating a specific order. The fact that there is a sequence is only realized after the photos have been grouped together.  Of course, many would say that a true unconscious ordering of images, especially when working with finished images after they have been photographed, is impossible.

Another form of sequencing can be the juxtaposition of two or three images together in the form of a diptych or triptych. Images can visually "comment" on each other, or expand upon the themes and ideas that are presented in the companion images (and, when seen together, the sequence from today's post works well as a triptych).

The reason I bring all this up is that I recently posted a series of three images to this site that ended up being a sequence, even though that was not my original intention. And although I was not planning a sequence when I posted the first image, I quickly saw the relation between it and what would become the second image.

The first image in the unintended, but now obvious, sequence is the Memory of a Soldier that was taken on my recent road trip through New England. It shows a window memorial to one of the local policemen in a small Vermont town who had recently been killed in Iraq. All the traditional trappings are in place, including the American flag and the yellow ribbons. It was a classic American scene that could have been in any small town in in the country.

A few days later I found my self in an area of upstate New York between the Hudson River valley and the Massachusetts border and I photographed a billboard that listed The Cost of the War in Iraq. I was immediately struck by the differences in these two small town responses to the war. I photographed this image the day after I had posted the Vermont memorial photo. Later, when viewing the images from that day, I realized the strong connection between the two and knew that it would naturally fit as the image following the Vermont scene.

Still in the upstate New York area, and not far from where the billboard was photographed, I came upon a roadside cemetery outside the town of Ghent. When I made the images there, I had no conscious association with the two Iraq war-themed photos. A few days after posting the billboard image, I decided to post one from the cemetery as the next photo on the blog. The main reason for this decision was that those images were the most recent that I had taken and the ones I was most interested in at the time. It was only after I had selected it for posting that I saw the connection to the first two.

The connection, of course, is the idea of death that runs through the first two images (a memorial to a fallen soldier, and a tally of soldiers and civilians killed in the war), and that is even more obvious in an image of a cemetery. The element of the road and the road sign warning of an approaching curve also underscored the concept that we have no clear idea of what the road is like around the bend, either in Iraq or life in general. 

So these three images became a sequence, even though they were not photographed with that intention (another image of a ghostly, motion-blurred car speeding by the grave stones was posted after the first cemetery image, but after seeing all four grouped together, it did not seem to fit as well). The first photo of the soldier's memorial was posted with no thought of continuing with additional images in the same vein. It was only with the second image of the billboard that a direct association was made. And the third image of the cemetery fit into the sequence more accidentally, though the conscious mind was at work once the connection was seen. I hasten to add that I do not necessarily consider the above triptych or sequence to be a "finished" work. It came about in an unplanned and largely serendipitous manner, but once I saw what was happening it set off a little thought ricochet in my mind on the subject of image sequence and series.

Sequencing can be an intriguing creative tool for showing images. Through a specific arrangement of photos, questions can be asked and answers suggested (or not), ideas can be presented and then visually commented upon, or they can be used in support of a narrative. The image sequence becomes a journey and the perceptions of a viewer can be guided along a certain path to arrive at a clear or intentionally ambiguous conclusion.

Comments

[APRIL MARTIN]

I was in the military for seven years in the airforce. I have seen alot of things and have lost alot of friends to the war.
Your series is very touching to me personally because I feel that currently the war is an unjust cause, I am not wanting to get in a polital discussion of what is right or what is wrong on the terms of war..it is like discussing religion, it is a road that will lead to nowhere.
I do however feel the power that your series represents. The last photo really brings a haunting reality of what the end result is in war..no matter what side you are fighting for.
From the missing soldier, the dollars that it is costing, to the grave stones is a great way to show the effects of war.
Thank you for sharing that with us. It is a very effective and heart wrenching series that should be seen by all. I am not going to patronize you by telling my teacher that he did a good job..thats a given, I will however say that it has touched me and really has an interesting perspective to it.

April

[Sean]

April...thanks for taking the time to post those insightful comments.--Sean

[Johnnie Mitchell II]

The photo is a gives me a better understanding of sequencing and thanks for showing us. Where all the shots, photographed in the same town?

[Sean]

Johnnie...the first image was made in Wilmington, Vermont; the middle one in Chatham, New York; and the third one in Ghent, New York (which is just down the road from Chatham.--Sean