The Dialogic Witness: New Metaphors of Creative and Ethical Work in Documentary Photography

Abstract

Howard Gardner described the troubling relationship between creativity and ethics in the sciences:” On the one hand, science and innovation proceed apace, ever conquering new frontiers. On the other hand, traditional restraints against wanton experimentation and abuse appear to be tenuous” (2006, p. 53). In domains like the sciences that have well-defined professional structures, an effective approach to issues at the intersection of creativity, ethics, and morality may be an appeal, like Gardner’s, to practitioners and educators working in the field. The domain of photography suffers from a similar imbalance between the application of innovative technology and attention to ethical or moral concerns. But characteristics of the field, such as porous boundaries between genres, a loose professional structure, and limited gatekeeping capacity, mitigate the effectiveness of addressing issues from within the professional realm. Innovations in the domain have enabled all of us to make, produce, and publish photographs, blurring the line between amateur and professional, making matters of ethical and creative significance both harder to address and of greater concern. Documentary photography, a genre that includes a variety of styles, forms, and purposes defined by focused subject matter, not aesthetic form (Abbot, 2010; Bogre, 2012), is of particular relevance to these issues. This chapter takes a broad and historical view of the domain and identifies culturally embedded assumptions that threaten creative efforts and undermine ethical practices.