Photos from the nineteenth century and from 2023 helped my fall seminar students explore truth, the fake, and fiction. And complex relationships with technology.
When I was putting it together, I was thinking of you and Jim and your travels around on assignment. I would bet that you and he have very specific thoughts--perhaps crystallized into more amorphous "habit"--that emerge where technical qualities of the equipment you use (and lug all over the place!) meet the assignment, the "desired effects," etc. That kind of thing sort of fades into the background, even though it very much channels the artistic decisions or the representations that come out of the work. I think that in part is why photography is art. It's also why photography isn't "true"--or at least as true as many think!
I hope you're having a great fall. Our surrounding woods just dumped its leaves, seemingly in hours. A bit unusual, especially since winds have been slight. But it's dry, and so the old trees probably just gave up summer all of a sudden.
It’s a whole smorgasbord of factors that’s involved, Mark! And you’re so right about the ‘lugging all over the place’!
Autumn is beautiful here right now. I’ve been thinking of your lovely sweetgum post from last year - ours is absolutely glorious, although its leaves are determined not to hold on. I need to reacquaint myself with the rake….. 🍂
This post reminded me of an article I read in Whole Earth Review back in 1985 (not long after I was a student in your class!) about digital retouching using a new tool called "Photoshop", and how it meant the end of photography as evidence of anything: https://wholeearth.info/p/whole-earth-review-july-1985?format=spreads&index=43
I have repeatedly served on juries over the last two decades and am always disappointed that other jurors insist that without photography or videos "there is no real evidence". They do not seem to understand that cameras and videos can be deceptive as well. The patina of impartiality or accuracy photography and video have is arguably more dangerous than eyewitness testimony, because fewer people are aware or cognizant of it.
What a nice long article! I haven't gone through it, but the reproduction brings back many memories of the quirky layout and typography of the Whole Earth family. And Stewart brand is still alive and kickin'! Thanks for the article. I'll give it a read and make sure it makes its way into my bibliographical database.
Absolutely FASCINATING, Mark. A gem! Saving this. 😊
When I was putting it together, I was thinking of you and Jim and your travels around on assignment. I would bet that you and he have very specific thoughts--perhaps crystallized into more amorphous "habit"--that emerge where technical qualities of the equipment you use (and lug all over the place!) meet the assignment, the "desired effects," etc. That kind of thing sort of fades into the background, even though it very much channels the artistic decisions or the representations that come out of the work. I think that in part is why photography is art. It's also why photography isn't "true"--or at least as true as many think!
I hope you're having a great fall. Our surrounding woods just dumped its leaves, seemingly in hours. A bit unusual, especially since winds have been slight. But it's dry, and so the old trees probably just gave up summer all of a sudden.
It’s a whole smorgasbord of factors that’s involved, Mark! And you’re so right about the ‘lugging all over the place’!
Autumn is beautiful here right now. I’ve been thinking of your lovely sweetgum post from last year - ours is absolutely glorious, although its leaves are determined not to hold on. I need to reacquaint myself with the rake….. 🍂
This post reminded me of an article I read in Whole Earth Review back in 1985 (not long after I was a student in your class!) about digital retouching using a new tool called "Photoshop", and how it meant the end of photography as evidence of anything: https://wholeearth.info/p/whole-earth-review-july-1985?format=spreads&index=43
I have repeatedly served on juries over the last two decades and am always disappointed that other jurors insist that without photography or videos "there is no real evidence". They do not seem to understand that cameras and videos can be deceptive as well. The patina of impartiality or accuracy photography and video have is arguably more dangerous than eyewitness testimony, because fewer people are aware or cognizant of it.
What a nice long article! I haven't gone through it, but the reproduction brings back many memories of the quirky layout and typography of the Whole Earth family. And Stewart brand is still alive and kickin'! Thanks for the article. I'll give it a read and make sure it makes its way into my bibliographical database.