THE DIGITAL CONDITION OF PHOTOGRAPHY READING
Updated: May 22, 2020
In the past few days, it has come to my attention the significantly increased amount of time I am spending reacting to, experiencing, and dealing with different forms of technology, and in doing so, ultimately experiencing photographs and artworks through a screen. Throughout this entire unit, and course of research leading up to the final exhibition, I, amongst all other creatives undertaking this brief, would have interacted with an extremely low number of physical prints and pieces of artwork. It has dawned on me that this may certainly act as a way or altering (hindering?) our perceptions of such works. Posing questions such as, just how often is it that we experience artwork physically now a days living in a digitally saturated society?
Furthermore, all of my artist research that I have undertaken thus far has been via the internet. This being a result of being restricted and confined to our homes, unable to leave and visit an exhibition, and even a library. For me, I have found this restriction extremely challenging. It is this physical act of venturing out somewhere and experiencing a piece of work that acts as a central source of inspiration for any project, aiding my motivation and engagement. None the less, this cannot be helped.
As much as I have somewhat tried to limit myself in interacting with my phone as much as possible, seeing as we seem to have an unlimited amount of time on our side, I have ended up using my Instagram account a lot more, and in these unsettling and uncertain times, it has been these social media platforms that have been using their powers to unite creatives and communicate just how we are all dealing with the situation and responding to it in a creative manner.
This piece of writing by David Bate below, outlines and explores concepts such as the screen as a means of display, and brings into question our relationship with the digital image. This being something that I am extremely keen on exploring further within my own practice and research.
1) Cameras are now computers
2) The computer camera is an instrument for recording, processing, distribution and display
3) The World Wide Web, a network for interactive processing, dissemination and exhibition of photographs
A few initial thoughts / notes from the reading
