. . . photographic images can be and almost inevitably are aestheticized, either by design (when the photographer's intention is to make art) or by the way they are displayed (for example, when documentary photographs are displayed on gallery walls). As a general matter, the aestheticization of images seems to be a fate almost inevitable in our mass-consumption society, which compulsively commodifies every conceivable sensuous object and experience for commercial use. But in any particular case, is it true that the aesthetic qualities of an image must be at odds with the image's political or moral significance? Is it not possible for the political significance of a photograph to be fully articulated in and by its artistic qualities, so that the image's moral claim on its audience only makes sense insofar as it is expressed in the language of visual art?
With these questions in mind, I would like to look at a recent photograph that has remained with me since I first encountered it on Phil Weiss's website Mondoweiss on February 20, 2015.