MCC-UE 3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Henry Fox Talbot, Louis Daguerre, Walter Benjamin
27 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Word photograph coined in 1839 by john herschel: drawing with light. Problems: each picture unique; lengthy exposure time. Many copies could be made from the original negative. Sturgeon & cartwright on mechanical reproduction (after walter benjamin) With the introduction of image forms such as photography there is no original work to speak of but rather a series of copies (prints) . The medium of photography changed the status of the image by making it possible to reproduce preexisting works of art . Copies lack uniqueness and authenticity ( aura ) of one-of-a-kind artwork. 1888: kodak camera and snapshot photography; you push the button - we do the rest . Indexical quality and use of photographs as (seemingly) objective evidence: coexistence of camera and real scene . 1890s halftone printing: possible to reproduce photographs in newspaper. Steep rise in images people were exposed to. Insertions (e. g. through double exposure): spirit photography. Medium mary marshall, 1932 (doyle returns from dead in ectoplasm)
