The archive as producer

Emerling's fourth chapter elaborates on the prevalence of the archive.

The concept of the "photographic," which brought about an investment of "unprecedented socio-political, ethical, propagandistic, and aesthetic value" within the image, highlights the consistent and unstoppable fluctuation of images that are preserved and then re-analyzed in a separate historical context (Emerling, 121). It is thanks to the archive that photographs can be examined through a contemporary lens in this manner, which puts the importance of the archive into perspective.

"One of the defining characteristics of the modern era has been the increasing significance given to the archive as the means by which historical knowledge and forms of remembrance are accumulated, stored, and recovered. Created as much by state organizations and institutions as by individuals and groups, the archive, as distinct from a collection or library, constitutes a repository or ordered system of documents and records, both verbal and visual, that is the foundation from which history is written" (Emerling, 121).

The very nature of the archive calls into question the relationship that it generates between the past and the present, of the coexistence between what the photograph once was and what it becomes after redefining itself within a changing world. This emphasizes the importance of perspective, especially regarding the different interpretations one can gain when analyzing a memory at a time that varies significantly from the moment of its inception. It is extremely important to keep this in mind as it permits present-day analysts to "expose the gulf between what happened in the past and how it now gets remembered" (Emerling, 122). The archive thus requires a responsibility to revive silent histories in order to give a voice to those that have quietly receded into the inaccessible confines of history.

"In an archive, the possibility of meaning is 'liberated' from the actual contingencies of use. But this liberation is also a loss, an abstraction from the complexity and richness of use, a loss of context" (Emerling, 124).

Although there is a notion that with the arrival of more progressive and forward-thinking times the circumstances behind certain images can be properly analyzed and allotted due respect, the removal of the objectifying and dehumanizing perspectives that provoked their creation when viewing photographs in a new era detracts from the gravity of the images. This again ties into the responsibility one has of understanding the often insidious contexts of photos taken in the past, of acknowledging the impact of a contemporary interpretation, and of re-contextualizing them in a way that benefits those who live in the now.

"As much as and more than a thing of the past, before such a thing, the archive should call into question the coming of the future...The archive: if we want to know what that will have meant, we will only know in times to come. The archive opens time" (Emerling, 158).

Emerling mentions the controversy that surrounds exhibitions like The Family of Man and layout styles like those of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Should the specific methods and reasonings behind the presentation of a photograph factor into their archival record? Why would it be relevant or important to include a museum exhibition into the archive for future reference? Does each examination of a photograph catalogued by the archive engage with the notion of the image's evolution, or can its meaning only be affected by broad and noticeable interactions with it, such as a museum exhibition? (Emerling, 133, 149)