Abstract (eng)
Topic: The relation between the picture and its caption in the context of postmodern war photography was determined using theoretical and empirical approximations. The object of analysis was the picture coverage of the Austrian daily newspapers Der Standard, Die Presse, Der Kurier and Die Krone during the wars in Iraq 1991 and 2003 and the war in Afghanistan 2001.
Thesis: If a caption is attached to a picture, the caption has the ability to interpret and thus change the receptional context of the picture itself.
Method: Using a three-step analysis of content, the published contingent of war-photographs was examined in search of identical images per medium and interval. If identical pictures were found, the descriptive context of its captions was categorized and reviewed for different propositions regarding the visual content of the picture.
Results: Pairs of identical pictures, in which the captions showed low, medium or high differences regarding the interpretation of the visual context in comparison to each other, were compiled in every interval of the examination. The thesis regarding the interpretative alteration of the viewed visual content via the use of the caption was verified.