JFK and the power of media

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Winogrand, Democratic National Convention

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Question 1

What historical event is captured in this photograph?

A	The first televised broadcast of the Democratic National Convention
B	Kennedy’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination for president
C	Kennedy’s inaugural address after being sworn in as President
D	The 1960 televised debate between Kennedy and Richard Nixon

Question 2

In their comparison of Kennedy’s image to the Augustus of Primaporta, the speakers suggest that Winogrand’s photograph

A	foreshadows Kennedy’s role as a martyr who died for a cause
B	affirms Kennedy’s role as a speaker and political leader
C	highlights Kennedy’s classically handsome good looks
D	alludes to Kennedy’s ethnic background and religious beliefs

Question 3

Which element of the photograph reminds the speakers that our interactions with political leaders most often take place through the media?

A	The grainy image of Kennedy seen on the television
B	The lighting that creates a halo effect around Kennedy’s figure
C	The careful attention paid to printing the black and white photograph
D	The animated crowds surrounding Kennedy on the stage

Question 4

Based on the video, how is this photograph different from other examples of Garry Winogrand’s work?

A	The photographer made the print himself
B	The use of black and white film
C	The central focus on a single figure
D	The interest in the convention as spectacle

Question 5

What evidence best supports the speakers’ interpretation of the photograph as a martyrial image and the clock as a memento mori?

A	The intimacy of the photographer’s backstage point of view
B	The range of light and dark contrasts in the photograph
C	Kennedy’s subsequent assassination while still in office
D	Kennedy’s leadership during a turbulent time of U.S. history

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Key points

• • Television played a key role in the 1960 presidential campaign. After his nomination at the Democratic National Convention, John F. Kennedy appeared next to his Republican opponent Richard Nixon in the first presidential debate ever broadcast to a national audience. Many historians believe that the appearance and demeanor of the candidates as seen on TV had a direct impact on the election.
  • Kennedy’s nomination represented a new direction for the Democratic party. While the establishment worried that his youth and his Irish-Catholic background would be liabilities in the general election, the 1960 Democratic Convention marked a shift toward a new generation of leaders and a more open nomination process.
  • As a street photographer, Garry Winogrand used split-second timing to capture images that are both spontaneous and simultaneously dense with meaning. Here, Kennedy’s gesture recalls famous leaders of the past, while his appearance on the TV screen alludes to his status as a modern celebrity. Other details of the photograph took on symbolic significance following Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, reminding us that works of art are open to continued interpretation and renewed meaning.

Go deeper

See this photograph in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art

Watch and read the transcript of John F. Kennedy’s acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic National Convention

Use primary source documents to learn about the 1960 presidential election

Learn more about John F. Kennedy’s presidency

Learn about the impact of television on the news media in the 1960s

Read more about Garry Winogrand

More to think about

Kennedy’s presidency coincided with the rise of television and its role in mediating our interactions with and connection to politicians. How do you think the emergence of social media has affected that relationship and the public’s direct access to our political leaders?