THE PROJECT “HOW BRIGHT IS DARK?” ADRESSES THE TENSION BETWEEN LIGHT AND SHADOW. ITS POINT OF DEPARTURE IS SUSAN SONTAG’S WORK REGARDING THE PAIN OF OTHERS.IN THIS BOOK, SONTAG ANALYSES A SPECIFIC CATEGORY OF IMAGES THAT SHE DESCIBRES AS “SHOCK IMAGES”: REPRESENTATIONS OF WAR AND VIOLENCE THAT HAVE AN IMMEDIATE AND PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE VIEWER. OUR CONFRONTATION WITH THESE IMAGES, HOWEVER, GOES BEYOND MERE SPATIAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTANCE. WHAT IS AT STAKE IS A CONSCIOUS ENGAGEMENT WITH AESTHETIC MEANS THAT ENABLE US TO ACTIVELY GRAPPEL WITH THE VIOLENCE OF IMAGES, RATHER THAN BEIGN PASSIVELY SUBJECTED TO IT.
THE PROJECT “HOW BRIGHT IS DARK” CONSTITUTES A VISUEL ENGAGEMENT WITH AMBIVALENCE OF SUCH “SHOCK IMAGES”, WHOSE EFFECT OFTHEN RUNS COUNTER TO THE INTENTIONS OF THEIR CREATORS. A PARADIGMATIC EXAMPLE OF THIS CAN BE FOUND IN THE ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF ATOMIC EXPLOSIONS, WHOSE OVERWHELMING AESTHETICS CAN SEDUCE THE VIEWER. TECHNISQUES SUCH AS FRAMING, IMAGE LAYERING, OR FRAGMENTATION SERVE HERE NOT ONLY REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES, BUT ALSO OPEN UP NEW PERSPECITVES ON THESE SHOCK IMAGES. THEY ENABLE US TO QUESTION IMPOSED MODES OF PERCEPTION AND TO SHARPEN OUR GAZE IN ORDER TO ESPCAPE THE SENSE OF POWERLESSNESS CHARACTERITIC OF OUR TIME.