Editorial review
What’s the Hang-Up? The Art of Family Politics and Photos
By Tanya A. Perdikoulias
Moving, witty, and full of stirring moments, What’s the Hang-Up? broadens your horizons beyond the confines of a 4 × 6 print.
Reviewed by CANREADS
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Introspective and thought-provoking. These are just two of a myriad of words one could use to describe Tanya A. Perdikoulias’s latest venture. What’s the Hang-Up? The Art of Family Politics and Photos explores something we encounter daily: family photos. Only, Perdikoulias turns a passive acceptance of these pictures into a lively, reflective discussion of why we take photos and what they truly mean to us.
Through a beautiful tapestry of personal memories from people across the world, we are taken through humanity’s simultaneous allure to and avoidance of the camera in a sparkling showcase of authenticity. Perdikoulias allows her subjects to shine beyond the lens, bringing together a multifaceted curation of photos from a broad range of cultures. Her discussion of why some Islamic households do not display photographs, for example, reflects the care with which she explores cultural practices throughout the book, considering the beliefs and choices that give them meaning. Alongside these personal accounts, she shines a light on the societal factors that shape our relationship with photos.
A clear strength of hers is understanding the weight of a snapshot to its subject, using, for example, a mother’s fear of the camera to comment on the unrealistic beauty standards burdened on women from a young age. Such insights are heartbreakingly moving, drawing attention to feelings and experiences we might otherwise overlook across nations, cultures, and religions. Perdikoulias finds powerful emotional truths in the everyday act of taking and displaying a photograph.
Additionally, Perdikoulias’s “What If: Small Experiments”—short, photo-related exercises—help break down abstract concepts into accessible actions, encouraging us to reconsider the barriers we subconsciously build around photography. When she asks us to stop and think about “what rules are shaping [our] wall choices,” she invites readers on a journey of social discovery. As she observes, “The person with the camera often calls the shots, literally and figuratively.”
That question of who holds the camera—and whose memories make it onto the wall—gives the book much of its resonance. Moving, witty, and full of stirring moments, What’s the Hang-Up? broadens your horizons beyond the confines of a 4 × 6 print. For fans of Photos That Changed the World seeking a more personal perspective, it offers a thoughtful accompaniment to an evening spent leafing through old albums. Whatever family photos mean to you now, Perdikoulias gives you reason to look again.
—CANREADS BOOK REVIEW