Tuesday (20-9), Department of History UGM conducted a public lecture entitled Towards an End of Colonialism: Mid-Century European Photographers Working for an Independent Indonesia. Brian Arnold from Cornell University became the speaker of this lecture, accompanied by Satrio Dwicahyo, a lecturer from Department of History UGM. In this public lecture, Arnold discussed the power of photography and European photographers who sided with Indonesia.
Photography is often seen as a snippet of the past. In both archives and history books, it seems like a neutral static proof of the actuality of an event. However, Arnold argued that photos are so much more complex than that. It is a powerful tool to disseminate knowledge. “Everything that a photographer experiences affects the decisions they make,” explained Arnold. “What is in the frame is as important as what is not in the frame. All of that creates subjective sensibility in photography.” That subjectivity can be manifested in the way as subtle as the background of a photographer following orders, to concrete ones such as institutionalized interests.
