Hold Photography Again
An international photography magazine* recently published social media advertising to promote subscription to their quarterly magazine and for online membership. The advertisement graphic consists of a simple graduated black to mid grey background with white text with the phrase ‘Hold Photography Again’. A simple but profound statement. Hold Photography Again.
Yes, we should.
Investigating further into the advertisement comes a statement…
“In a time when most photographs vanish with a swipe, (*) brings them back to where they belong - on paper, in your hands, and in your heart.”
Yes, photography should.
For me, this short profound statement makes logical sense. Photography should be defined by its physicality, something tangible that you can hold, touch, view without the aid of a screen which diminishes and excludes important and relevant information like scale, tonality, definition, colour fidelity, etc, which screen based viewing homogenises into easily disposable fodder, eye candy with empty calories, an easy swipe away after a momentary glance.
Photographic physicality has become even more important now that we are entering the era of A.I.. Photography at present is facing an anxiety not seen since the advent of digital photography and Photoshop nearly 30 years ago with fears about authenticity, not trusting what we see in front of our own eyes. I am not suggesting that physical media is not any less prone to deceptive manipulation than screen based media. However, I would say that imagery that can be held, viewed on a wall, studied ‘in the flesh’ so to speak has a more seemingly authentic aura than anything viewed on a back-lit screen.
One thing I do know, physical media, a shoebox full of photographic prints will always be a shoebox of photographic prints in 100 years time. Over the last 30 years, we have saved ephemeral digital images on storage devices ranging from floppy disks, zip drives, CDs & DVDs, thumb drives, USB memory sticks, hard drives, and even in the ‘Cloud’. All evolving technology, but, in 100 years time will any of these devices be accessible to read, be able to retrieve the evidence of the culture and zeitgeist of the first quarter of the 21st century? Are we in the era of the ‘lost image’? Should we ‘Hold Photography Again’?
Absolutely.
*FRAMES Magazine.