‘The kiss’

 

I wanted to look into the images of ‘the kiss’ a bit more so concentrated on Doisneau’s The Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville)”.  The kiss taken in 1950, has become a classic image of being in love and in Paris, sharing this intimate moment with the world  Seen as the “most romantic ever taken and widely reproduced since 1986”, this image should evoke the sense of passion and love captured at the perfect time . However, this image has come under great scrutiny for its uniqueness.  After several lawsuits were brought against him claiming he used their faces without permission, Doisneau revealed that actually this photo was staged and he asked the couple to kiss in three places before settling on this one.  This adds to the debate of misrepresentation that we were discussing in the first week and the kiss with the sailor.  What we think at first glance is the capturing of an emotional, intimate moment was actually a staged event put on for the camera.  This destroys any intimacy or sense of emotion one should associate with this image, much like the sailor image with the girlfriend in the background!  I thought this was such a poignant image that is actually upon more research a misrepresentation of the intimate act of a kiss.  I’ve included this more modern interpretation of a kiss in Paris by David Bacher to illustrate the misrepresentation of love in Paris.  This act of intimacy reflected in this image can be questioned on its authenticity and their ability to pose in front of a camera.  I do like the image itself though with the silhouette drawing your eye and the iconic image of Paris blurred into the background, makes a romantic depiction.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/0414/Robert-Doisneau-The-story-behind-his-famous-Kiss

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/that-times-square-smooch-right-to-the-kisser/?_r=0