Expression and contents: the construction of sense in Elliott Erwitt´s photographies

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of three photographies of Elliott Erwitt, Magnum´s agency photographer, taken from his book Snaps, from the Discursive Semiotic´s perspective. According to this theory, an image is considered a text. The utilized method was the analysis of the expression plane and the contents plane to reach the creation of sense in the photographic messages. The emphasis of the studies was the significance process of the elements manipulated for the construction of photographies.