the structures of photographic thought.
amy monaghan
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Photography as Memory.............................................................3 Chapter 2 The Impact of Images..................................................................8 Chapter 3 Photography as Trauma............................................................10 Chapter 4 The Information Transfer..........................................................14 Chapter 5 Why We Photograph..................................................................15
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Chapter 1: Photography as Memory
I am afraid of memory. I fear its manipulation, I fear its loss. How can memory be made permanent? To give our memories tangibility, credibility, and permanence we attach them to images that we perceive of as having all of these traits. After all, photographs are in many regards tangible, credible, and permanent. This solution to our memory dilemma becomes challenging, however, when we consider the reality of the photograph's impermanence. On a physical level, photographic images are prone to tearing, fading, and general deterioration. And as to their credibility, it is doubtful whether even the most skilled photographer could be successful in capturing an exact depiction of something so fleeting and subjective as an individual memory. Therein lies the trouble with linking our memories so inextricably to the photographs that we believe to be their records. If the photograph itself becomes damaged or deteriorated, what becomes of the memory it represents? The effort to preserve memory through photography is exemplified for me in the countless number of commercial portrait studios open at any given time throughout photography's history. As I considered the notion of memory and its relationship to the photographic portrait studio, I began to think about the physical results of such attempts to preserve memories. Namely, the resultant prints. Looking to examples from the early history of photography, I discovered countless numbers of portraits lying unnoticed in thrift stores and antique shops throughout the city. The anonymity of these portraits blatantly emphasized the futility of trying to make memories permanent. Now disconnected from their owners and subjects, these prints serve as a reminder of the transient nature of memory, and of the reality of photography's ability to safeguard it.
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The following information was obtained through historical research at the office of the Monroe County Clerk in Rochester, New York. All unknown variables have been omitted.
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Schaefer SunBeam Gallery 146 E. Main Street Rochester, NY Opened in January 1883 Closed in March 1907 Originally owned by Joseph J. Schaefer of Albany, NY Joseph J. Schaefer: Born 1857, Albany Died ? Cause of death: ? Children/Spouses of Joseph J. Schaefer: ? In 1892 ownership passed to J. Thompson J. Thompson: Born ? Died ? Cause of death: ? Children/Spouses of J. Thompson: ?
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Fig. 1: Portrait of Joseph J. Schaefer
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Fig. 2: Portrait of J. Thompson
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Chapter 2: The Impact of Images
The photograph is inescapable. Images are a powerful element of our lives. They can determine how we think and how we act, and somehow manage to infiltrate the very consciousness of society. How does living in an image driven world affect our perception of place, time, and ourselves?
Example 1: The Postcard as Authority Figure (Fig. 3) The postcard is authority. It is a pre-determined means of showing people what aspects of a place (and thereby, of the world) should be considered significant. The postcard as a souvenier has been an integral part of the collective tourist experience. But the problematic nature of allowing an unseen panel of image selectors to influence our perception of the world should not be lost on the postcard viewer. In recent years the advent of the internet has contributed to the decline of mailed postcards, but the notion of the postcard as an authority figure has only grown. The sole change has been the switch from the physical postcard to the use of internet mediums in their place.
Example 2: Social Media as the Modern Postcard (Fig. 4) Social media sites are a new approach to the concept of postcarding. In the same way that the physical postcard has power over the viewer's image sensitivity, sites like Facebook command the attention of the viewer and show in no uncertain terms which images are important. The distinction is that Facebook removes authority from the unknown image selectors and gives it to the individual. Thrilled by this power, the individual is now capable of imaging their profile in whatever way they desire to be a representation of themselves.
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Fig. 3: Postcard of Rochester, NY showing Genesee River and city skyline
Fig. 4: Screenshot of a Facebook profile
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Chapter 3: Photography as Trauma
Trauma: An occurrence that bypasses normal human abilities to register and comprehend. Because it cannot be registered, the impact of the event is skipped or delayed. So there is a latency inherent in trauma that mimics the latency of photography. "Photographs can visually stage experiences that would otherwise remain forgotten because they were never fully lived." -Ulrich Baer, "Spectral Evidence" But there is also something undeniably traumatic about photography itself. There is an intrinsic division between the photograph and reality, between the photograph and the photographed. The separation of what is real from what is representation creates a confusing gap between what we expect from photographs and what they are actually capable of giving to us.
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The act of photographing may also be interpreted as a traumatic gesture. The following is a personal memory exemplifying the trauma of photography.
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Fig. 5: Family portrait at the World Trade Center Memorial site, 2011
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Fig. 6: Detail of my face
I remember feeling uncomfortable. In retrospect, I can pinpoint the command of "Smile!" as the source of that discomfort. To photograph the place seemed acceptable--even logical. But the manipulation of this place through images, of recreating it as a tourist locale for smiling and shooting.... well, that to me exemplified a trauma so profound I couldn't put it into words.
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Chapter 4: The Information Transfer
We seek the authority of the photograph because we fear and question our own authority as individuals. But when photographic authority fails we are left with nothing other than a false sense that we have been betrayed by the image. When we regard photographs as informational their importance is elevated, because as humans the pursuit of information and knowledge is one of our critical ambitions. When images are used to transform and shape our perceptions, we will only ever take one of two courses of action: 1. We will accept the photograph as truth, and thereby alter our own ideas in order to fit the photographic reality. 2. We will deny the photograph's authority, thus contradicting the shared concept of photographic truth which allowed the image to be made in the first place.
Herein lies the problematic nature of the photograph-- or, more truthfully, the problematic nature of human interaction with the photograph.
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Chapter 5: Why We Photograph
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