Week One: Satan’s Face

Image of the Week

satansface110905_560 — By Mark Jacobson on August 27, 2011. Photo by Mark D. Phillips.

The “devil face” that many saw in the billowing smoke within seconds after Flight 175 smashed into the South Tower was almost certainly not Photoshopped. It is there, fully visible in the AP photo above, as well as on the CNN feed archived on YouTube, hovering below the point of impact, around the 70th floor. Of course, it helps to believe in Satan, as rendered by church artists during the Middle Ages, to fully appreciate the image. Also helpful in amplifying the effect is to listen to George W. Bush’s address that night, in which he said, “Today our nation saw evil.” There’s no doubt, there he is: Lucifer, a dead ringer for Osama bin Laden, sure as you breathe.

Many of those who were there to watch in horror and disbelief as two hijacked commercial flights crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center can probably remember this image that started circulating soon afterwards. In it, the smoke from the South Tower seems to form a face, which many had dubbed “Satan’s Face”. Of course, with this being one of the United States’ most devastating events in recent history, many – especially the religious – would look for otherworldly sources to blame.

While this photo was also highly suspected of some sort of manipulation at the time, it is unaltered, but that is not to say that the tragedy was the work of the Devil. Two computer scientists from University of Texas at El Paso were able to explain this illusion.

The analysis showed that perturbations in the smoke can consist of horizontal lines (such as the “eyes” and “mouth”) and vertical lines (such as the “nose”) overlaid on a conic surface (the “head”). The scientists concluded that both the background shape (the cone) and the features on the background (horizontal and vertical lines) are naturally explained by the physics and geometry of smoke plumes emanating from fire. (Scientific American)

Despite the confirmation that the illusion was a natural occurrence for smoke, this image was used to spread fear and hysteria throughout the masses. In this sense, the line between reality and fiction was truly blurred; after all, how could one possibly think clearly during a time of great tragedy and terror?

Related Images

Paul Shambroom
Weegee with his microwave camera
2017, March

Digital photomontage
Internet – Original source ill-defined

In a tweet on 4 March 2017 at 6:35 AM President Trump wrote “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!”

This montage photograph by Paul Shambroom uses a 1944 self-portrait by Weegee to create a visual satire on Kellyanne Conway, adviser to President Trump, and her comment on surveillance:

“There are many ways to surveil each other now, unfortunately,” [Kellyanne Conway] said. “There was an article this week that talked about how you can surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets, any number of different ways. And microwaves that turn into cameras, et cetera. So we know that that is just a fact of modern life.” (reported in The LA Times, “Kellyanne Conway on surveillance: We have ‘microwaves that turn into cameras'”, 13 March 2017, 8:03 AM)

Home > Contents > Visual indexes > Paul Shambroom

29768_std

Unidentified photographer
A hair-raising experience for this young man. A ghost created by double exposure.
n.d.

Tintype, double exposure
Private collection of Andrew Daneman

Note the fear as expressed in the hair!

Tintypes such as the image above can show the same levels of creativity that is seen in other forms of 19th century photography, and that includes multiple exposures showing the same person in different poses or spirit photography, the practice of attempting to capture ghosts on film.

Even without the modern digital era’s usage of photo editing applications such as Photoshop, photos could still be manipulated in different manners to convince others to believe in the existence of otherworldly beings, thus also blurring the line between reality and fiction.

Home > Contents > Visual indexes > Unidentified photographer

36193_std

William Hope
Couple with young female spirit
1920

Gelatin silver print
National Science and Media Museum

Gelatin silver printing has been the primary black-and-white process since its development in the late 1880s and consists of three layers—paper, baryta, and gelatin—on which an image is produced. The paper essentially serves as a base, with the baryta layer (a surface preparation of barium sulfate) sitting on top to separate the image-containing gelatin layer from the paper support. The gelatin layer is made up of an emulsion that consists of light-sensitive silver compounds that form the image following exposure of the negative and development in a chemical bath. Another distinguishing feature is the smooth, even image surface. Photographers often use additional chemicals on gelatin silver prints in order to alter the range of tone and make the print more permanent. (The Art Institute of Chicago)

Home > Contents > Visual indexes > William Hope

11367_std

Unidentified photographer
The invisible spirit
n.d.

Cabinet card
Larry Gottheim, Be-hold, Inc
Courtesy of Larry Gottheim – Be-Hold (47 / 157)

Large label on the verso indicates “Obtained by Two Spiritualists in London… in 1895 and 1896. They were Richard Boursnell and J. Evans Sterling. This is No. 52, “Spirit of a lady unknown curiously robed in flowers. Empyreal light on the sitter.”

Cabinet cards are photographs mounted on stiff pieces of cardboard. They were introduced in the 1860s and gradually superseded the smaller carte de visite format.

The front of the card is usually printed or embossed with the photographer’s details, and the back of the cabinet card is often printed with elaborate designs. (The National Science and Media Museum)

Home > Contents > Visual indexes > Unidentified photographer

82997_std