A virus as an icon: the 2020 pandemic in images
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A virus as an icon: the 2020 pandemic in images Julia Sonnevend1
© Springer Nature Limited 2020
Abstract The 2020 coronavirus pandemic is puzzling from a visual point of view. There are millions of photographs published about the crisis every day, yet we can see the key actor, the virus, only in artistic representations. Most of us also have very restricted access to central sites of the crisis, as intensive care units, nursing homes, meat packing plants and prisons are often not available for photographic representation. At the same time, we are oversupplied by other images that try to capture the “essence” of the moment. This article analyzes three prevalent visual genres in connection with the ongoing pandemic: abstract representations of the virus and public responses to it, images of heroes and sinners, and photographs of the “stage”: the iconic spaces including empty public buildings and busy domestic spaces. All these iconic representations try to grasp the “deep meaning” of the crisis through a particular scene or moment. Their expressive surfaces have become our key sources to imagine the coronavirus crisis, and to socially connect in a time of painful and prolonged physical distance. Keywords Icon · Image · Representation · Visual · Pandemic · Coronavirus The 2020 coronavirus crisis presents some unique visual challenges. There are millions of photographs published about this event every day, yet we cannot see the key actor: the virus. Most of us do not have access to the central sites of the crisis either. Intensive care units, nursing homes, meat packing plants and prisons are key locations of the crisis, often far away from cameras. Public health experts argue that if only we saw how the novel virus wrecked bodies, we would behave differently. Thus, there seems to be a fundamental problem with our not seeing what is happening in, and even around us. The frustration of public health experts with people’s lack of compliance also makes it clear that having powerful and expressive representations is not about the * Julia Sonnevend [email protected] 1
Department of Sociology, The New School, 6 East 16th St., 79 5th Ave 9th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA Vol.:(0123456789)
J. Sonnevend
need for “spectacle” or “voyeurism”. Without the ability to see and relate to this crisis, people will be unlikely to follow strict guidelines that interfere with their usual daily lives. Communicating and representing the crisis is thus not only about “talk”, but also about “walk”. As sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander once put it, “icons root generic, social meaning in a specific and ‘material’ form” (2008, p. 782). Instead of being mere illustrations, they are entry points for public discussion and social contestation. Only through powerful communicative tools can those not in the medical profession comprehend a public health crisis, and ultimately act upon it. Strangely, in the case of the 2020 pandemic while we are deprived of key visual experiences in relation to the coronavirus, we are also oversupplied by
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