ERIC ED380098: Photography/Digital Imaging: Parallel & Paradoxical Histories.

6 Pages·1995·0.25 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
IR 017 019
ED 380 098
Witte, Mary Stieglitz
AUTHOR
Photography/Digital Imaging: Parallel & Paradoxical
TITLE
Histories.
PUB DATE
[95]
6p.; In: Imagery and Visual Literacy: Selected
NOTE
Readings from the Annual Conference of the
International Visual Literacy Association (26th,
Tempe, Arizona, October 12-16, 1994); see IR 016
977.
Speeches/Conference Papers (150)
PUB TYPE
MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Art: Computer Assisted Design; Computer Graphics;
DESCRIPTORS
*GraphiC Arts; *Imagery; *Photography; Reprography;
*Visual Arts
*Digital Imagery; *Paradigm Shifts
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
With the introduction of photography and
photomechanical printing processes in the 19th century, the first age
of machine pictures and reproductions emerged. The 20th century
introduced computer image processing systems, creating a digital
imaging revolution. Rather than concentrating on the adversarial
aspects of the computer's influence on photography, the electronic
revolution can be viewed as offering alternatives that were not
previously available. The discussion of photography and electronic
imaging addresses tlie following issues: repercussions for current
media; deconstruction and alteration of images; transformation and
the erasure of the distinction between the actual and represented
world; differentiation between computer-processed images and
photographs, and the possibility of hybridization between traditional
and technological technologies; the challenge that the further
diminishment of differentiation between unique originals and
multiples means for the traditional control of replication,
distribution, and concepts of value; and velocity of image capture
and increased availability to the public. Digital imaging offers
potential for new constructs, will permanently transform visual arts
and extend our notion of art, and necessitates new ways of
perceiving, knowing, and judging art. The digital revolution offers
empowerment and opportunity, as well as new problems such as ethics
and copyright.
(MAS)
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Photography/Digital Imaging:
Parallel & Paradoxical Histories
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went do not necessarily represent ott.c.ai
OERI posmon or policy
(1992) notes that "The discovery of
Background
questioned the
photography essentially
The history of photographic
functions of art. The theology of "pure"
art, which grew once photography (as
technologies may begin with the earliest
reproduction, as stills, as photomontage, as
human efforts to create accurate records of
cinema) supplanted some of the social-use
images in their environment. Numerous
value of art, contained within its ideology
devices were employed over centuries of
experimentation. The historical and
such concepts as the divine genius of the
painter and the sanctity of hand skills as the
theoretical underpinnings included linear /
mathematical systems formulated to
only means of making art."(p. 16).
reconstruct the visual world optically. The
of
proliferation
rapid
The
camera obscura traces its roots at least to
photography in the mid-to-late nineteenth
the eleventh century, and the camera lucks
century was accompanied by considerable
with lens and mirror was refined by the
repercussion. The painter Paul Delaroche
This provided a basis
eighteenth century.
is traditionally acknowledged as having
for the search to capture and fix the
pronounced 'From this day painting is
camera's image during the eighteenth and
dead'. The commentary that 'New arts
nineteenth centuries. With the introduction
destroy the old' is often attributed to
of photography and photomechanical
Emerson. Baodelaire is also said to have
printing processes in the nineteenth
offered his observation that 'Industry, by
century, the first age of machine pictures
invading the territories of art, has become
and reproductions emerged. The twentieth
century advanced computer image
art's most mortal enemy'.
processing systems, creating a digital
Photography and industry were not
These rapidly
imaging revolution.
fatal to painting and art, but the visual arts
developing technologies continue to blur
affected. Just as
were immutably
distinctions between actual and represented
photography proved to be a means of
reality, and alter both the technical and
expression, creation, innovation, and
philosophical points of view regarding
communication, digital imaging now offers
image mating.
new modes of visualization, organization
and production. Traditional photography
Repercussion
will continue, but the influence of electronic
technologies will be abiding. Quandaries
Photography at its genesis, and then
persist as the nature of art and the artistic
digital imaging, both introduced radical
scrutinized in relation to
process is
new tools and provided significant
computer technology. Rather than consider
transformation in the visual arts.
They
the cynical or adversarial aspects of the
offered innovative artistic possibilities
computer's influence on photography, it's
which in turn generated questions, concern,
more important to not- the benefits gained.
even backlash to 'machine-aided' art.
The electronic revoludon offers alternatives
Questions typically arise concerning the
that were previously not available.
validity of art done via machine. Lovejoy
IVLA - 389
Deconstruction & Alteration
development of three dimensional imaging
technologies, virtual reality, and real time
Almost as soon as mathematical
imaging further blurs distinctions and alters
perspective was refined to 'reconstruct' the
visualizations. Mitchell also noted that
we
visual world, some artists set out to
may "...see the emergence of digital
`deconstruct' visual representation.
imaging as a welcome opportunity
For
to
example, anamorphic distortion garbled,
expose the aporias in photography's
extruded, and hid an image, then used
construction of the visual world, to
an
optical system such as a mirrored cylinder
deconstruct the very idea of photographic
to reclaim the view.
objectivity and closure, and to resist what
has become an increasingly sclerotic
Soon after the introduction of
pictorial
tradiv!on."
(p.
8).
Images
photography, artists combined images,
manipulated by the computer further
added color, recorded movement and made
subvert the 'realism' associated with
hand alterations. Image juxtaposition, the
photography and invite new quests in
superimposition of multiple images,
visualization.
mutation, and the study of movement have
many antecedents in the history of art.
Digital imaging encompasses
a
Cubism, Futurism and Surrealism all
diverse
array
of
techniques
and
liberated viewers by placing the 'real'
applications, from the computer as
an
world in conjecture. Combined data sets
electronic replacement for traditional media,
and synthesized images have translated
to the exploration of digital tools for their
codes in different forms throughout the
unique capabilities and their new
ways of
history of the visual arts.
influencing perception and thought.
E'ectronic imaging offers us the ability to
Lovejoy (1992) noted the parallel
generate and manipulate more images, by
paradigms of photography being to
I "ore means than ever before. We currently
Modernism, as electronic media is to
deal with the quandary of an era when
Postmodernism. (p. 16).
As new tools
artists celebrate the potential of digital
were developed to reconstruct 'reality"
image manipulation, and the
press would
prefer a code of ethics to regulate
some artists responded by generating ways
to deconstruct that imagery. This opened
manipulation. High resolution graphics
the door for the phenomenon of the
with recomposing and retouching
postmodern, and disintegrated barriers of
capabilities raise the question of what is
traditional concepts of
art.
The
Is photography any longer evidence
confirmation of both
photography and
of anything?
electronic imaging as influences and tools
in the visual arts emerged.
Thus digital imaging with its
new
conventions, forms, manipulations, and
Transformation
transformations, has jolted photography's
`reality reference'. While basically
aware
Photography has been the medium
e the differences between objects and their
most associated with realism. William J.
photographic representations, traditional
Mitchell (1992) observed that "After
assumptions about the
more
'reality'
of
than a century and a half of photographic
photographic images, combined with the
pro action, we also have to contend with
manipulations possible with digital images,
the powerful 'reality effect' that the
create a dilemma. A parallel is that both
by now
photographic
image
has
traditional photography and digital imaging
constructed for itself." (p. 26). Twentieth
re-present our visual world. Veracity of
century visual technologies have further
representation is a growing concern, with
erased the distinction between the actual
virtual reality
an example of current
and the represented world. The role of
directions to further confound the eye.
representing the three-dimensional world
has expanded with electronic tools. The
Photography 'compressed' the
IVILA - 390
3
a two-
three-dimensional world to
further obscures the distinction between the
actual environment and the altered
dimensional surface, with the visual world
environment.
as the model. Now electronic imaging
`decompresses' or releases images to 3-D,
New technologies enable artists to
4-D, 5-D with dimensions and sensations
look at things in new ways, push technique
that have not previously
beyond reality
...
beyond the traditionally possible, and to go
existed and could take on new meanings.
beyond mere fascination with the tools to
personal, individual statements. We may
Each new technology applied to art
then reach a level beyond works that merely
forms offers potential for new aesthetic
display technique. A toolsmith alone is just
constructs, both visual and conceptual.
The true
an operator of the machine.
The current generation of digital I electronic
collaboration of artist, hardware and
imaging is marked by repercussion,
software designers produces a win/win
transformation, mutation, proliferation and
situation. A creation greater than the sum of
velocity.
Collaboration allows
the parts can result.
for multiple credits, varied perceptions,
Differentiation
new questions and problems to
solve.
Significant opportunity exists for both
The distinction between digital and
interdisciplinary and intermedia alliance
significant.
is
analog representation
which may well influence the process,
Digitally encoded and computer processed
product and context of the new technology.
images are clearly distinguished from that
of their photographic predecessor. Critical
Hybridization is a common bond
of
amounts
differing
factors
are
between traditional and new technologies.
information, and differing characteristics of
Many works begin with traditional
replication and manipulation in each format.
photography or art media, and add
Digital information is easy to manipulate,
computer manipulation to produce new
recombine, and transform ... it is infinitely
combinations. Metaphors arise quickly.
malleable.
We now hear of the 'electronic darkroom',
and software that offers dodging, burning,
The amount of complexity can be
drawers, brushes, crayons, paper surfaces,
exceptional in computer generated images,
sketchbooks, and all the traditional tools.
and the risks also enormous. So many
A metamorphosis may result that produces
versions can be created so rapidly, that the
works that never could have existed outside
alternatives and speed are extraordinary.
This may eventually
the computer.
Multiple sequences of creation are
necessitate a new vocabulary.
common, and it is curious that few artists
exhibit sequential works.
Replication
Many regard computer use as
Much as photography influenced
relinquishing 'high touch', yet the human
painting, digital imaging has further
factor is critically important. The machine
diminished the customary differentiation
plus the human mind is far more synergistic
between unique originals and multiples.
than machine alone. The tool alone is never
This challenges traditional control of
the artist. The tool in teamwork with the
replication, distribution, and concepts of
artist serves the artistic process explicitly.
`value', and differs fundamentally from
The human/machine interaction is richly
conventional, established rules of the art
expressed in the creation of sophisticated
market. The issues of public versus private
hardware, software, applications and
art, authorship, copyright and permanence
products. Human talent remains the most
will present perplexing questions for the
important resource. The gap between artist
market and any collectors bound to the old
and technology is narrowing as artists meld
rules.
intuitively the real with fabrication. This
IVLA - 391
One response to the concerns is
to
photographers offered portraits to ordinary
recognize the significance of the artist's
people in diverse places. Now electronic
concept above the tool, material or process.
images are transmitted instantaneously and
The originality of the visual statement does
globally. Both photography and electronic
not depend on the rarity of the image, the
imaging offered a democratizing influence.
laborious handwork required, intricacy of
process, or tradition of the tool.
Conclusion
The
objective of a print or 'hard copy' is
traditional, yet digital media
may not
The near wizardry of digital
necessarily follow that model. Prints
can
technology is reminiscent of the magical
be made, yet publication and dissemination
quality attributed to photography in its early
can remain in the electronic mode. The
years. Some parallels have been briefly
forms can be uniquely interactive,
examined in
this discussion.
The
collaborative, or network-based
and not
...
paradoxes also present themselves for
dependent on traditional hard
copy meant
consideration. Each new technology brings
for wall exhibition.
with it a set of potentials and limitations.
Each necessitates learning the technical
"Digital imagers give meaning and
aspects in order to freely explore the
value to computational ready-mades by
expressive and conceptual ideas. Each also
appropriation,transformation, reprocessing,
has a countenance, an idiom,
as well as a
and recombination; we have entered the
age
capacity for unique realizations.
of electrobricollage." (Mitchell, 1992,
p.
7). Artists approach
new forms with
The debates will likely escalate
as
diversity,
sense of
spontane:',y,
a
imaging becomes a
digital
global
discovery, exploitation of the technology,
representation, just as photography did in
and elements of play. Opportunity is rich
its first 160 years. Image form, meaning,
for artist/machine interaction and free
use, and value will essentially change.
exploration. New tools afford potential for
Digital imaging offers potential for
new
new combinations of art and technology,
constructs, both visual and conceptual
...
and a fresh repertory of forms, methods,
and will permanently transform visual
arts
communications, and interpretations.
and extend our notion of art.
Electronic
Many artists attempt to demolish the
imaging will necessitate
new ways of
confines which are intrinsic to the
computer
perceiving, knowing and judging
art. The
and explore the plastic and expressive
digital revolution offers empowerment and
potentials of digital imaging. Every tool
opportunity, as well as new problems such
offers particular limits
as well as potentials
as ethics and copyright.
to be considered. The immediacy of digital
production is a factor which appeals
The Survey
to
many artists.
The slide survey constitutes the
Velocity
`eye' of this IVLA presentation, and
exemplifies some of these
new visual
Nineteenth century draftsmen and
paradigms. The images speak eloquently.
painters saw photography
as a very quick
The slides present a visual panopticon of
way to record the visual world. Currently,
selected historic and contemporary artists.
the speed of capture, manipulation, print
The sample provides a rich repertory of
production and transmission of electronic
diverse artists exhibiting new images and
images reflects the increased velocity of
forms. Some artists demolish the limits
twentieth century life.
In both instances,
inherent to their medium. Each medium
the images became available to
many more
and tool offers particular restrictions
as well
people.
Before photography, only the
as capabilities for the artist. These visual
wealthy could have their portrait painted.
selections represent a variety of concept and
As the 19th century progressed, itinerant
expression.
5
IVLA - 392
There continues to develop a syntax
Artists differ greatly in what they
pictorial
of digital imaging, resulting in new
their
bring to the computer. Some generate
forms and altered views of our world.
visual forms on the computer alone, while
other
others digitize their photographs and
visual material for a hybridized approach.
Still others use the computer as an
intermediary tool. One example is the use
References:
for the
of digital tools to produce images
construction of a final collage or
composition. The artist then fabricates one-
Currents:
Lovejoy, M. (1992) Postmodern
of-a-kind works with computer generated
of
Art and Artists in the Age
in
images. An interesting paradox exists
Electronic Media, Prentice-Hall,
engineered for
use of tools
this
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
reproduction to create unique works.
Eye:
Mitchell, W. (1992) The Reconfigured
artists have had
Many of these
Post-
the
Truth
in
Visual
of
considerable influence in the use
Photographic Era, The MIT Press,
in the visual
computers as a tool/medium
*Cambridge, MA.
arts.
6
IVLA - 393