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Volume 10 No. 3 Summer 2000
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Secure the Shadow: The Appraisal of Photographs[1]
by Lara Wilson
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"Secure the Shadow, Ere the Substance Fade, / Let Nature imitate what Nature made" – this is one of the photographic industry’s earliest slogans. The notion that photography captures reality endures today for each year billions of photos are taken for many purposes. The art historian John Berger observes that within 30 years of photography’s discovery in 1839 the technology was used for among other things, police filing, war reporting, military reconnaissance, encyclopaedic documentation, pornography, family albums, postcards, and anthropological records. [2] In the 1985 Records and Archives Management Programme (RAMP) study on photograph appraisal, William H. Leary identifies numerous government and non-government image types. Government photograph types include: personal identification and ceremonies, construction progress, training aids, publicity, programmes, military activities, agriculture, nature, science and technology, and social welfare subjects. Non-governmental photograph types include: newspaper, commercial, and amateur. This last category includes the ubiquitous snapshot. [3] Regardless of the subject matter and type, the compelling verisimilitude of this technology perpetuates photographs’ documentary use.
However, appraisal of such diverse and numerous images poses a challenge to archivists, who, as Hugh Taylor observes, "are reared for the most part on the heavy gruel of text." [4] Archivists must work against the societal notion that photographs are objective records of reality, and realize their meanings and functions are subjective and elusive. Hence, the metaphor to "Secure the Shadow" takes on a new meaning - that of the archival appraisal of photographs. During appraisal, an archivist must take into consideration the medium’s unique attributes while also being mindful of general archival concerns, such as determining photographs’ evidential and informational values.
This paper discusses the issues surrounding, and the development of guidelines for appraisal of photographs. Significantly, a brief consideration of the literature reveals a dearth of comprehensive studies on the specific topic of photograph appraisal. The topic has not evoked much discussion of late; perhaps it is overshadowed by concerns regarding electronic records, which affect all records as digitization becomes more widespread. However, an understanding of the photographic medium and the issues surrounding photo appraisal is beneficial to archivists, since the majority of archival repositories in Canada acquire photographs. My paper identifies the significant issues in photograph appraisal, namely cultivation of knowledge about the medium and visual literacy, and the identification of evidential and informational value. These issues are then considered in relation to the development of appraisal guidelines, in particular those of the National Archives of Canada.
A thorough knowledge of the medium, its attributes and functions in society assists in determining appraisal criteria. In 1977 Richard J. Huyda observed that "Recognition of the significance of photographs depends upon an understanding of the historical developments depicted in the images and of photographic technologies, aesthetics and attitudes." [5] However, soon afterward Terry Cook identified a problem in special media divisions -- that of the elevation of aesthetic value over documentary concerns. Such connoisseurship, he believed, stressed the individual collectible item over the series of organic records functionally related to the parent body, and it reduced the archivist to a curator. [6] Debra Barr also touched on this issue of archivist as curator in her 1985 thesis. According to Barr, the difference between the two professions is that curators are concerned with the scholarly use of records, while archivists "must protect the administrative value of official records." However, Joan Schwartz, the chief photography specialist at the National Archives of Canada, has countered: "The pejorative tone attached to the term ‘curator’ usually derives from the erroneous assumption that a photo-archivist is motivated by the same concerns as the curator, namely artistic merit or connoisseurship. But aesthetic considerations are a minor element of the archival appraisal of photographs and merit attention only for the way in which they contribute to ‘the consequences wanted by the author.’" [7]
Clearly, a photograph’s aesthetic content is only one of its attributes, and certainly one that presupposes artistic intentionality of the creator. What is more significant, and must be taken into consideration during appraisal, is the image’s potential variety of meaning. Huyda acknowledges what photo-theorists have also recognized, namely that "a photograph is not a facsimile of a total reality at some moment in time. Every photograph is altered in some manner by the intention of the creator, the nature of the apparatus, the film, the processing and printing, and the unique interpretation of the photograph by each viewer." [8] Similarly, Susan Sontag has observed that, being a product of interconnecting social relations, a photograph has many meanings. Yet, photography’s photochemical and mechanical process contribute to belief in its neutrality; photography’s myth is that the camera confers truth. [9]
Understanding the complexity of photographic messages requires a visual literacy on the part of the archivist. Visual literacy is a somewhat imprecise concept defined as "the ability to understand and use images and to think and learn in terms of images." In a 1996 Archival Issues article, Elizabeth Kaplan and Jeffrey Mifflin posit three levels of visual literacy: superficial, concrete, and abstract. Superficial perception is the immediate determination of what a photograph is "of" – its "of-ness." The second or concrete level refers to subject content, or "aboutness." This second level requires "more complex ways of thinking about the images and requires specific historical knowledge of circumstances or events, participants, techniques, and more." However, it is the third level of visual literacy that draws upon the analytical skills of the archivist-viewer, and her or his familiarity with the medium. According to Kapan and Mifflin, the abstract level involves the perception of the image’s visual elements. They note that these intellectual elements are not easily expressed in words, "and the perception of them entails an understanding of the realm of conventions associated with the visual." the third level is distinctly more subtle, requiring "a particular set of sensibilities and skills, and a knowledge base that, like facility with history and historiography, must be learned." It requires knowledge of the conventions and technology of visual perception, expression, and of the particular medium. In addition, components of visual materials such as symbol, organization, space, and point of view must be taken into consideration. Clearly, a familiarity with visual expression and its terminology is an asset. [10]
Moreover, a necessary component of visual literacy is contextual knowledge achieved when other records of the same creator are preserved. Kaplan and Mifflin argue: "Archivists should make a special effort to keep related materials together. On the most basic level, this means keeping together images that were created together" Photographer’s notes and other complimentary sources should be sought out, preserved, and made available." [11] The archival bond has to be preserved, and this also means that photographs should not be appraised in isolation from the fonds.
For archivists, diplomatics, as applied to photographs, buttresses the development of visual literacy. As photography literally means "light writing," from the Greek photos (light) and graphein (to write), diplomatics can be extended to its study if photographs "can be considered ‘written’ in the sense they express ideas in a documentary and syntactic form." Joan Schwartz argues that study of the photograph should be undertaken not as a neutral representation of material reality, but "in terms of its relationships with the persons concurring in its formation" [T]he photograph [is] a mediated representation of reality; the product of a series of decisions; created by a will, for a purpose, to convey a message to an audience." As a part of the appraisal process, diplomatics encourages the identification of context, the author, the intentionality and audience, since "rules of cultural and technical production do govern their creation." Additionally, a photograph’s physical form helps convey its message; for instance, the unique format of a stereograph, "determined the circumstances and way in which the image was viewed." [12] The format, types of process and size of the image all convey meaning, and are taken into account.
When it comes to appraisal, photographs must be understood as having both evidential and informational value; that is to say, they can provide information about their creator’s activities, and about their subjects. However, in 1965’s Management of Archives, T.R. Schellenberg wrote: "Information on the provenance of pictorial records within some government agency, corporate body, or person is relatively unimportant, for such records do not derive much of their meaning from their organizational origins" [Also] pictorial records are mainly important from the point of view of the subject matter, not from the point of view of their functional origins." [13] Leary, in part, encourages this in the RAMP study: "Photographs, like other audiovisual materials, possess minimal evidential value." [14] Thus, the basis of their archival value is informational value. However, this notion can certainly skew the appraisal process. Schwartz argues: "in order for archivists to understand the evidential value of archival photographs, archivists must first abandon their faith in the function of the photographic document as a truthful representation of material reality and cease to equate archival value with image content." [15]
In a recent paper presented at the Society for American Archivists, Schwartz again took up the defence of photographs’ evidential value; she states that a significant part of a photograph’s meaning is invested and generated by its provenance and functional origins. That is to say, meaning results from the context of their creation, original and subsequent use, and history of preservation, as well as authorship, purpose, message, and audience. Photographs participate in the practices of data gathering, cognitive processes of ordering facts, imaginative processes of visualizing facts, and function as vehicles of communication, as means of keeping inventory, and as tools of preservation. [16] Clearly, to relegate photographs’ value to their "of-ness" diminishes their importance as records.
Appraisal guidelines developed for the Visual and Sound Archives (VSA) Division of the National Archives of Canada (NAC) assist archivists in identifying evidential and informational values. NAC’s photography guidelines balance both universal archival principles and the particular requirements of photographic appraisal -- that is to say, knowledge of the medium and visual literacy. Provenance and authenticity analyses are "primarily supplied by a knowledge of the history of photography it is the equivalent of knowing the history of the source for manuscript or paper documentation." In addition, the guidelines require staff "to remain up-to-date in the collecting field through magazines, mailing lists, press releases, visits to other institutions national and international contacts, and so on." VSA’s general analysis takes into account the typical photographic problem of volume or "repetition vs. comprehensiveness." The archivist has to take into account the integrity of the series; "if a group (like a roll of film or parts of a collection, or even a whole collection) is judged of national significance, that group should all be retained." Group-level selective retention is also beneficial, as it "concentrates attention on more archival concerns, such as historical context [and] allows for variety in potential use, a quality essential in an archives, leaving specific selection and interpretation to individual clients." Archivist’s knowledge of photo history will inform appraisal decisions relating to the creator and aesthetic qualities of the document. Additionally, the guidelines note that due to the complexity of their subject matter, photographs lead to a wide variety of research directions. Archivists benefit from advances in the field of photo-history, theory, and related disciplines; at the VSA, one must be "familiar with the leading edge of new research." Other photograph-specific factors include rarity derived from uniqueness. For example, views of anonymous trades people at work are more rare than portraits of Queen Victoria. Rarity can also be derived from the creator’s organization. VSA also emphasizes the importance of identification of technology. The guidelines state: "the technology available to the creator, and selected when creating the document, may weigh heavily when considering the intent of the creator and the message of the document." In addition, rarity of a technique in the Canadian context "can increase the national significance of any surviving examples," and age, or an earlier technology, "can enhance an otherwise unremarkable document." [17]
Aside from these specific guidelines, it is worth noting that since 1991, NAC as has been using the macro-appraisal model. Macro-appraisal is a "top down" approach, which uses provenance as the determining factor in the identification of an archival record. Macro-appraisal is a planned and logical approach, "supported by carefully executed research and detailed analysis [of] the history of the record creator(s), its mandate and function(s), its structure and decision-making processes, the way in which it creates records, and the changes to these processes over time." Catherine Bailey explains that at NAC, "instead of individual media archivists working in isolation, appraisals are carried out by teams of archivists headed by a lead archivist from the division responsible for the bulk of the records [thus,] wherever possible, submissions, appraisals, and authorities cover all records created by one institution." However, in her 1997 article, Bailey highlights a potential difficulty in applying macro-appraisal to visual records. She writes: "how does the macro-appraisal model adapt to non-government creators? Can it be applied successfully to non-textual records such as photographic records which have generally been preserved outside the control of the traditional record systems on which the model is based?" [18]
Recently, I asked both Jim Burant (Chief of the Art, Photo and Philatelic Archives, VSA Division) and Joan Schwartz how successful the application of macro-appraisal had been to photography. Schwartz replied that there are two main problems, theoretical and practical: 1) there is a lack of understanding about the function or functions of photographs as records generated in government departments; and 2) there are poor records management practices regarding photographs. Relating to this latter point, Burant explained that NAC is developing a disposition authority relating to photographs, but it is still in its draft form. [19] Regarding the understanding of photographs’ functions, Schwartz notes that with government photographs, macro-appraisal is based upon assessment of evidential value, and does not accommodate retention for information value.
Thus, in appraisal, the pendulum swings back and forth between the photograph’s evidential and informational values. A single non-governmental photograph may appear to have a greater informational value than a government photograph, but photographs as a whole, governmental and non-governmental, possess both values, and appraisal criteria must take this into account.
Archivists of the present and future benefit from a knowledge enriched through visual literacy and diplomatic analysis. Photographs are complex documents, with many potential functions and levels of meaning. However, a record is a record, regardless of medium. In order to "secure the shadow" and to benefit users and society as a whole, photographic specialization has to be united with sound archival practices and co-operation amongst professionals throughout the records’ life cycle.
[1] This is a shortened and modified version of a paper written for Terry Eastwood’s first year class, ARST 520: "Selection and Acquisition of Archival Documents." While it explores issues surrounding appraisal of photographs, space does not permit me to include discussion of preservation and conservation, important factors to consider in acquisition. The author directs readers to the British Columbia Archival Preservation Service, available through the AABC website at http://aabc.bc.ca, and to published resources such as the SAA Basic Manual by Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Gerald J. Munoff, and Margery S. Long, Archives and Manuscripts: Administration of Photographic Collections (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1984). The author thanks Terry Eastwood, Joan Schwartz and Jim Burant for their assistance and commentary.
[2] John Beger, About Looking (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980), 48
[3] William H. Leary, The Archival Appraisal of Photographs: a RAMP Study with Guidelines (Paris: UNESCO, 1985), 63-91.
[4] Hugh Taylor quoted in Elisabeth Kaplan and Jeffrey Mifflin, " ‘Mind and Sight’: Visual Literacy and the Archivists," in Archival Issues 21, no 2 (1996): 119.
[5] Richard J. Huyda, "Photographs and Archives in Canada," Archivaria 5 (Winter 1977-78): 10.
[6] Terry Cook, "The Tyranny of the Medium: A Comment on ‘Total Archives,’ " Archivaria 10 (Summer 1980): 149.
[7] Joan Schwartz, " ‘We make our tools and our tools make us:’ Lessons from Photographs for the Practice, Politics, and Poetics of Diplomatics," Archivaria 40 (Fall 1995): ftnt. 86.
[8] Huyda, 12.
[9] Susan Sontag, On Photography (New York: Farrarr, Straus and Giroux, 1977), 137.
[10] Kaplan and Mifflin, 107-121.
[11] Ibid., 121.
[12] Schwartz, " ‘We make our tools,’ " 43-58.
[13] T.R. Schellenberg quoted in Schwartz, " ‘Between a wink and twitch’: The post-modern challenge to the appraisal of photographs," paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists, Pittsburgh, PA, 27 August 1999: 1. Quoted by permission of the author.
[14] Leary, 19.
[15] Schwartz, " ‘We make our tools,’ " 46.
[16] Schwartz, " ‘Between a wink and twitch,’ " 12-13.
[17] National Archives of Canada, Visual and Sound Archives Division, Guidelines on Appraisal: Art, Photography and Philately," (February 2000): 10-25.
[18] Catherine Bailey, "From the Top Down: The Practice of Macro-Appraisal," Archivaria 43 (Spring 1997): 94, 98 and 122.
[19] There is a disposition authority for "Poster-Creating Areas of Government Institutions." Multi-Institutional Disposition Authorities and Supporting Documentation is available as a PDF file at the NAC website (www.archives.ca) under "Services to Government."
Lara Wilson holds a BA (honours) in History in Art and English, and a Master of Arts in History in Art, both from the University of Victoria. The subject of her MA thesis was the photograph album of Nellie McClung. She is currently a student in UBC’s M.A.S. program.
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© 2000 Archives Association of British Columbia