Samenvatting

Images can honour and dishonour people. But they only do so when that specific meaning is assigned to the image. This article shows that the meaning of images is dynamic and subjective in nature, using three analytical dimensions: content, format and context. These three dimensions are explored in two series of images: painted portraits of deceased American soldiers and photographs of posters of Palestinian suicide bombers. Whether these images are honouring or dishonouring the people portrayed depends on the viewer who constructs their meaning. This not only gives the creator and distributor a (moral) responsibility, but the viewer as well.