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The 'third effect' is what happens when any two photographs are juxtaposed - without captions, titles or any other textual clues.

We read meaning into each photograph individually. But we also read a third meaning into the fact that they have been juxtaposed. This third meaning is highly subjective, shifting and enigmatic. It is an extension of what Barthes termed the "obtuse" meaning in all photographs.

The bigger the 'gap' between the photographs [subject matter, source, genre, time etc] the greater the third effect. 

www.3rdeffect.net is an online artwork / fanzine / research archive dedicated to exploring this phenomenon - the outcome of an expanding network of contributors.

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