Y13: MIRRORS & WINDOWS

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PHOTOGRAPHS THAT ARE WINDOWS AND MIRRORS?

Mirrors and windows are ideas of a binary opposite. ‘…two creative motives…’ [Szarkowski, 1978] that have conspicuous contrasting ideas.

Windows: photos meant to act as a window for the viewer to see something that is primarily factual and external to the photographer’s own sensibility. 

Mirrors: Reflection in photography is also known as mirror photography. Its basic premise is capturing an image that also has a reflective surface that is echoing the surrounding scenery.

John Szarkowski
Henry Fox Talbot

KEY WORDS

Mirrors: subjective, reflections, visions, psychological, expressions, manipulated, synthetic, personal.

John Szarkowski

Windows: objective, views, documents, optical, straight, public, real.

Henry Fox Talbot

BINARY OPPOSITES

FOLDER

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