Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson

Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson, Oklahoma, 1911

The photograph titled Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson has strong cult and exhibition values to it because of the ritual or magic (cult value) and information (exhibition value) contained in it. These two values are considered the two poles of the quantitative shift and qualitative transformation an art piece experiences. Both values coexist in all pieces of art, but one dominates the other. In this particular image, the exhibition value is the more demanding of the two poles mentioned. Benjamin analyzes artwork by the exhibition value over the cult value because of the emphasis of horrific, haunting, and mystical quality found in photography.

This photograph confers the exhibition value because of the ghostly imagery of death it possesses. The people spread out along the whole width of the bridge are proud of the murder that has taken place and glorify it by taking a picture for the world to see.  It seems as if they’re having a great time together with two dead bodies hanging beneath them. This is the sick culture of those times, and this best expresses the exhibition value or the information that’s given to us. How could a society find this acceptable and righteous? Death is a sensitive subject, but to these (white) people on the bridge, they appreciate and are happy about the death of these two African Americans. This is also relative to the times of the Holocaust in that these kinds of people shared the same accepted views on supremacy and racism. The innocent dying for people’s pleasure is the main focus in this photograph. Benjamin states photographs like these are like scenes of a crime. However, in this particular photograph, this is more than true because this is a crime that looks dark and dreary that contradicts economic and social progression.