Abstract

Despite knowing that photographs can be manipulated, we tend to accept news and documentary photographs as reportage of real events; their purpose is to inform us about something happening somewhere, and to tell us something of the truth. Art, however, rarely claims to be objective, factual, dispassionate, or balanced in commenting on world events; providing timely, accurate information is not its purpose. Yet for centuries, art has had a role in representing real events, and artists continue to draw from global news and issues to create work. This paper addresses work by several contemporary artists who base their two-dimensional images on real events. Referring to the theories of Henri Bergson, Paul Crowther, Jean Fisher, and Jacques Rancière, amongst others, it considers whether art, more than news reporting or photojournalism, comes close to telling the truth.