Tales of ephemeral existence: between sculptures, pictograms, and photographies

Abstract

This article, the purpose of which is to place photography into the discussion, has been developed through the different social sciences with which it particularly deals with the anthropological, historical and social significant elements that include tales of human groups, the means of defining their existence, and rituals and manners of constructing relationships with environmental, social and cultural surroundings. The paper has six sections, starting with an introduction. The following chapter provides some keys to understanding the possible connections between sociology and photography. The third part develops a discussion of the place of the anthropological field in recognizing photography as a human and cultural practice. The next chapter opens a debate about photography, through the results of a case study in Colombia involving a discussion about the family, the construction of visual speech, the tales that individuals create in a family album, and the possible distortions and interest in building particular dialogues about the past. We conclude with theoretical reflections about the important place of visual narration and the construction of collective memory in the institution of the family. In this way, we show the continuously constructed tales that unveil the human sojourn in the world. In the same way, the family as an institution is one of those human groups that uses tools such as photography to construct their stories and their official collective memories in oral and visual discursive narrative codes.