Photography's Neoliberal Realism

Discourse #4

by Jörg Colberg

Confronting the work of widely celebrated photographers Annie Leibovitz, Gregory Crewdson and Andreas Gurksy, Photography’s Neoliberal Realism examines how these artists produce capitalism’s equivalent of the Soviet Union’s socialist realism by giving photographic form to widely held and rarely questioned beliefs and ideas. The ideological framework that Colberg terms ‘neoliberal realism’ serves to cement an economic system whose many fault lines are becoming increasingly clear, such as staggering inequality and racial disparities. This extended essay provides an alternative reading of photographic works laden with artifice, and argues how focusing on this artifice misses the more far-reaching ways such images operate in our visual economy. DISCOURSE is a series of small books in which a cultural theorist, curator or artist explores a theme, an artwork or an idea in an extended illustrated text. 

Genres: Nonfiction

34 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 11, 2020

Reviews

[Gasira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not especially compelled by Colberg's close readings, especially that of Crewdson's work, but I am convinced by the stakes of this project, which he articulates on the last couple pages on recognizing dog-whistles in images. Some interesting discussion on socialist realism and capitalist realism (although I am starting to get tired of glosses of Mark Fisher). Was most interested in the final section, "Beyond Neoliberal Realism," but found that the stakes of his project were not totally harmonious with the arguments generated by his close readings (though in all fairness, they weren't totally incongruent either).

[Mack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just don’t agree with most of the conclusions Colberg is drawing here. To dedicate two pages to Gorsky’s work only to end with “In a world governed by neoliberal capitalism, Gursky let’s us know that resistance is futile, and it’s impossible to come up with any other read when faced with his photographs.” I call bullshit that it’s impossible, I think there are plenty of other reads.

Similar complaints about the analysis of Crewdson’s work, there seems to be a lot of projection in assuming that these eerie portraits of alienation are devoid of socioeconomic criticism and imply blame of the individual, I just don’t read that in his work.

I think the strength here is when Colberg zooms out to discuss the recuperation by the fine art establishment of photography critiquing neoliberal capitalism, and the cost of these works as highly collectible prints or overpriced collections of photos in books etc.

Annie Leibovitz sucks though, no complaints about critiquing her.

[Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the introduction and the first, large section on Annie Leibovitz's Vogue magazine covers. I was excited by the idea of exploring neoliberal realism in current photography through a similar methodology as that used to understand socialist realist artworks. Unfortunately, Colberg's analysis of both Crewdson's + Gurzsky's work suffers from applying a neoliberal realist critique at the expense of actually taking in the work itself.

Crewdson's images, taken at face value, do depict traditional gender roles, an exclusively white world, and hopelessness, however I would argue that his images function as a strong critique of the stultifying limits of the rationalist, neoliberal, cis "American Dream". The artificiality of the highly exaggerated neurosis on display in Crewdson's images is a tool to draw out how this ideology that has been foisted on "everyday" America is so deadening.

And as for Gurszky's photographs, rather than propping up neoliberalism in the way that Leibovitz's work does, doesn't his work put on display the spectacle of neoliberalism and ask us to reflect critically on what we are forced to regard through his enormous canvases? Consumerism is on display for us to be horrified by in his "99 Cent" image. And in his "Chicago Board of Trade 1", he is blowing up the mechanics of neoliberalism --showing us what's behind the curtain in order that we consider the manmade mechanics of the system we take for granted in neoliberal realism.

I guess it could be argued that I'm reading the content of these images and not considering the neoliberal overlay, which is what Colberg is suggesting must be acknowledged and critiqued. But if that's the case, then at worst these images are in tension with the neoliberalism of which they're a part.

Photography's Neoliberal Realism is definitely worth buying and reading, if only for the first section (the Crewdson + Gurszy sections are a just a few pages and are almost like an afterthought compared to the more in-depth Leibovitz section).

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the last couple years, I've been of the opinion that the American people, probably since 2012 but definitely since 2016-2020, have been subjected to a level of propaganda the likes of which would almost certainly make even the highest level apparatchiks of the Soviet regime blush. This essay not only bolsters those suspicions, but also gives crucial insights as to how subtle this propaganda can be. Furthermore, as someone outside of the photography criticism sphere, the essay was surprisingly accessible. I don't agree with everything here, but it was excellent nonetheless.