CAMERA LUCIDA

Roland Barthes believes it was chemists who invented photography. As a scientific circumstance, images are extracted by the action of light, producing one of kind photographs. “Photographs don’t call up the past, they prove that what you see has existed,” says Barthes. I agree, photographs offer immediate presence to the world and say what has been; they are the ultimate proof that something happened. Unlike language, which can’t be authenticated, photos are an evidential force. According to Barthes, the power of authentication exceeds the power of representation, and I agree. It’s always better to view/believe something with verification than a depiction. As a photographer, I believe in the power of photographs. 

MASTERS OF ILLUSION

The video Masters of Illusion uses state-of-the-art computer graphics to demonstrate how scientific linear perspective was used by Renaissance artists to create the illusion of three-dimensional space. Italian artist Giotto, was believed to be the first to achieve true linear perspective. A famous example of linear perspective is “The Trinity”, which shows true perspective. This technique appeared in sculptures, paintings and drawings and is now used in all kinds of art.

I think the power of optical illusion is fascinating; it’s amazing how the simple placement of lines can impact the way we view things. Without the discovery of linear perspective and many other great artistic techniques, the world would not have all the famous, incredible art that we enjoy today. 

THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S EYE

Throughout art history, paintings and drawings were the main art form used to depict human nature, beauty, etc. After the invention of the camera, people were skeptical and didn’t understand how a “mindless mechanical machine” could produce significant art for people to enjoy. Many artists even thought of photography as art’s mortal enemy. This left the photographer with lots of explaining to do in order to save the new art. “The invention of photography provided a radically new picture-making process—a process based not on synthesis but on selection,” said author John Szarkowski.

            Overtime, people began to take notice to how the camera actually could reproduce memorable photographs and capture meaningful life moments at a faster rate than paintings. “Painting was difficult, expensive, and precious, and it recorded what was known to be important. Photography was easy, cheap and ubiquitous, and it recorded anything,” says Szarkowski.

            I can definitely understand why many people in the beginning did not think so highly of the camera; it was the start to change and was foreign machinery. However, as a current photographer, I am so glad it became accepted and understood. It made way for new, efficient art and has greatly impacted the world.

ON PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographs educate us. Since the invention of the camera, we are no longer confined to just what is in front of us, but have access to see anything and everything. Susan Sontag states, “…In teaching us a new visual code, photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe.” I agree; looking at photographs is an experience in which people get to live vicariously through a camera. Sights that were once a dream for people to see are now possible due to cameras; they show us the beauty of the world and allow us to feel like we are actually seeing it. “To collect photographs is to collect the world,” said Sontag. Although some photographs are capable of deception, most are a form of proof; proof that something happened.

Overall, I agree with her statements and also believe that photography is an art form that provides truth, beauty, and opportunity. 

WAYS OF SEEING VIDEO

            Ways of seeing depend largely on habit and convention, the main convention being perspective. This allows for the eye to be the center of the visual world, says the video’s narrator.

            According the narrator, the camera is a version of a “mechanical eye” that has changed everything. “Cameras are free from the boundaries of time and space” and have impacted how humans view things. For example, paintings were displayed in buildings that were a part of how the museum/church was designed, everything around the painting was part of its meaning. Now, thanks to photographs, you can’t feel the authenticity of artwork when looking at a photo of it. We don’t travel to images; we expect them to come to us.

            Not only do photographs influence how we see, but also so does the noise around us or perhaps something else we saw earlier that day. Everything we encounter can affect our perception of sight and feeling. 

project 1 montage ideas