Interpreting any given image knows no boundary. The meaning we give to a photo exists in an endless realm--it is only by our own cognation we can begin to understand its meaning.

Imagery influences our everyday perceptions, emotions, and definitions of the world we have come to know and accept. The fault line is drawn where we assert our own ideas and apply them to a picture. The meanings are endless; until we understand the context or intention, we see an image as being completely ambiguous.



Here we have a scene of a man reading a newspaper on a rusted barrel. In the background we see something that looks like a water treatment plant-- a structure of a civilized society. His blue pants contrast sharply in the image and look clean, though the lack of human contact isolates him. Without understanding the moment in which the picture was taken, I personally would assume this man lives in a developing country with access to written material. I would also conclude that his neat attire and ability to read makes this man educated and privileged. The truth is slightly removed from these assumptions. The caption of the photo reads:

"An unidentified man waits for a bus to come on July 8, 1993, in Havana, Cuba. The country had a severe drop in economic growth since the expiration of aid from the former Soviet Union after the end of communism. Fidel Castro has ruled the communist island for over four decades, and been in war of words with the United States all since then. The country has good education and medical level but lacks a free press and freedom of speech."

My understanding of this image has changed. Moving past the poor grammar of the caption, we understand that this man exists in a world that limits basic freedoms. His solitude fortifies the rebelliousness associated with a lack of free press in Cuba under Fidel Castro. The meaning of the picture has drastically shifted from a scene of a simple man modestly reading an article to a portrayal of defiance: a person seeking information in a time where media was criminalized and forbidden.

The level to which we interpret stock images is ambiguous in the sense that our own cognitive dissonance defines the image to our own standards. I find it interesting that we can attribute our own artistic meaning to any given photograph. It is only until we associate the picture with background information or text that its meaning becomes exclusive. Before I read the caption words that came to mind were education, industry and intellect. After reading the caption--rebellion, limitation, and obstruction.