Chorography – Writing places by words and images

Chorography (from χῶρος khōros; “place” + γράφειν graphein, “writing”) is a term deriving from the writings of the ancient geographer Pomponius Mela and Ptolemy, meaning the geographical description of regions. However, its resonances have varied at different times. Richard Helgerson states that “chorography defines itself by opposition to chronicle. It is the genre devoted to place, and chronicle is the genre devoted to time”. Darrell Rohl prefers a broad definition of “the representation of space or place”.

From Wikipedia

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On my last day in New Orleans for the SITE conference, I stumbled upon the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and stayed there for a few hours to hide away from the sun at noon.  The recommended itinerary was to start from the 5th floor, then make my way down to the first floor. I wasn’t in a hurry, so I put the map in my purse and casually wandered from one room to another, seeing the arts before going back to the door and read the exhibition description.

 

I stopped in front of this big photo.

 

 

 

 

Let’s think about it for a moment.

 

The round frame. Almost the whole spectrum from white to black. An ordinary, old, decaying house. Quietness.

 

 

Let’s now read the tiny caption next to it.

Disarchive# 03-04

Location: 1100 North Prieur Street (6th Ward)

Date(s): February 28, 2007

Name(s): Herbert Preston (19)

Notes: Gunshots to chest. Recently returned Katrina evacuee

 

 

I could feel something silently shift inside me.

“Someone was killed there.”

 

I felt half nostalgic of my innocence (simply enjoying an aspect of New Orleans lesser known than the colorful, lively and noisy places on Bourbon Street), half thankful to know eventually what it’s all about. “Gunshots to chest” – that tiny piece of information totally changed my perception of the photo.

 

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This is the description of the exhibition:

 

Deborah Luster: Tooth For an Eye: A Chorography of Violence in Orleans Parish

Deborah Luster is known for her lush black and white photographs that document the rituals and customs that surround the culture of the American South and in particular, Louisiana. Over the past decade, Luster has been making photographs that explore the effects of crime, punishment and violence in Louisiana. With Tooth For an Eye: A Chorography of Violence in Orleans Parish, Deborah Luster focuses her camera on an invisible population – people who exist only as a memory – homicide victims.

 

P/S: Since the concept and the execution of this series is already powerful, I’d expect the name to be minimalist, and more subtle. “Violence” suddenly becomes too bland a word to describe what happened to those people and places, and what happened to me.