No Caption Needed
Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy
In "No Caption Needed", Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites provide the definitive study of the iconic photograph as a dynamic form of public art. Their critical analyses of nine individual icons explore the photographs themselves and their subsequent circulation through an astonishing array of media, including stamps, posters, billboards, editorial cartoons, TV shows, Web pages, tattoos, and more. Iconic images are revealed as models of visual eloquence, signposts for collective memory, means of persuasion across the political spectrum, and a crucial resource for critical reflection.
Arguing against the conventional belief that visual images short-circuit rational deliberation and radical critique, Hariman and Lucaites make a bold case for the value of visual imagery in a liberal-democratic society".No Caption Needed" is a compelling demonstration of photojournalism's vital contribution to public life.
About the Author
Robert Hariman is professor of rhetoric and public culture in the department of communication studies at Northwestern University.
John Louis Lucaites is provost professor of rhetoric and public culture in the department of English at Indiana University.
Together they are the authors of "No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy".
Reviews
National Communication Association: Diamond Anniversary Book Award, 2008
Kappa Tau Alpha: Frank Luther Mott-Kappa Tau Alpha Research Award, 2008
Media Ecology Association: Susanne K. Langer Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Symbolic Form, 2008
"Through outstanding studies of specific iconic images, Hariman and Lucaites address powerfully the emotional resonance and political complexity of photojournalism. They demonstrate how the collective response to photographs can reveal national and cultural character. Their discussion of these themes is a service and tribute to all those who care about visual communication. Photojournalists and citizens alike can learn a great deal from this terrific book" – Peter Turnley, award-winning photojournalist
"This authoritative, thought-provoking book analyzes the genesis and reception of key American images from Dorothea Lange's 'Migrant Mother' to pictures of the Challenger disaster and 9/11. Drawing extensively on the recent scholarly literature, it demonstrates the pivotal position of the still photograph in modern visual culture. It will be essential reading for students of 20th-century photojournalism, propaganda and mass media. Highly recommended" – Robin Lenman, general editor, The Oxford Companion to the Photograph
"I was truly astounded by the intelligence of the analyses in 'No Caption Needed', and the authors' refusal to either over- or underestimate the power of these iconic images. Beyond that, Hariman and Lucaites engage in a profound reflection on the role of iconic journalistic photographs in modern democratic societies, the way they become ideological totems, or provocatives to further controversy. This book will be the starting point for any future attempt to deal with the problem of the iconic photograph and its social uses" – W. J. T. Mitchell, author of "What Do Pictures Want?"
"'No Caption Needed' is a fascinating study of why a photograph is successful and what happens to that image once it enters America's collective conscious as an icon. Hariman and Lucaites's exhaustively researched book provides thoughtful insight into how some photographs have helped shape America's cultural identity, and explains how one image can be used by different parties to fulfill different agendas. I recommend this book to anybody interested in the history and development of visual culture in the United States" – Ashley Gilbertson, photojournalist and author of "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"
"A penetrating and provocative analysis... The authors' analytical achievement is enabled by an extraordinary feat of research and reporting" – James Rosen, The American Interest
"What especially distinguishes this work is the authors' discussion of the myriad ways iconographic photographs are used, transformed, and appropriated, thereby creating a dynamic rhetorical presence that continues to influence memory, thought, and behavior" – Photography and Culture
