PLEASE POST YOUR RESPONSES TO CLASS READINGS (1)

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BLOG POST_01: Grace Gutowski

I noticed that the development of photography seems to rely on the methods that make mass production easier. The daguerreotype was popular until the advantage of Talbot’s calotype negative made it obsolete. Each daguerreotype was a unique image that could not be exactly reproduced, whereas Talbot’s paper negative allowed each picture to be reproduced over and over again. Having more than one copy allows the image to be mass produced in a book. Later, a process was developed to make it cheaper and easier to reproduce images in newspapers and books, allowing for even more mass production of each image. More recently, digital photography has made production of photographs even faster and cheaper. Above all, it allows even more copies to be made since the picture never actually needs to be printed in order to be seen by a large and diverse audience. The internet makes photographs more available to more people than photobooks or exhibitions.

The internet is a good venue for discovering individual photographs, but it does not do the same thing for photobooks. Photographs on the computer are not objects. You can only see what the computer screen or the file size allows. You cannot flip through a slideshow or web pages the way you can flip through a book. When I read a book, sometimes I want to flip back and forth between pages or skip ahead. This is more difficult to do on the computer. You cannot get that phenomenon of turning the page and slowly revealing what is on the next spread.

I also think that digital images are not as permanent. They can be lost if a computer or jump drive breaks or is lost. Photography negatives are less susceptible to human error such as accidental deletion or weather damage such as water or cold. I have heard that once something is on the internet, it is always there, but that does not mean it can be found. Web pages can be disconnected and links can be broken. Once a book is out in the world, it can be found again, even if it is broken or in pieces.

It is interesting that photography started out with one main focus, which was to document the world. It was not until many years later, after the technological aspects were improved, that photographers started to see photographs as art. They began to experiment in the art of photographic imagery rather than experimenting with chemicals and light involved in the photography process. Today, photography is used in many different ways including art, science, as evidence for crimes, family portraits, documentation and more.

Technological advancements have allowed photography to be more accessible. Everyone has a camera and many people put their pictures on the internet. Digital photography makes the production of photography faster and easier, which greatly increases the number of pictures taken. There are so many pictures these days that they run the risk of being lost in the crowd, especially since they are all in one place, the internet. Few photographs actually end up in printed form these days. When photography was new, the photobook was the main way they were seen, but today the photobook is rare.

reading response no. 1

Within the Introduction reading, I thought the author had a lot of thought provoking points about the photobook. One of the points that struck me the most, was that its not just about any one really good single image, its more about using many to shape into a smooth cohesive piece. The connection between the photobook and film is also interesting in that with a photobook, like films, the artist has the ability to add whole other dimensions to their photos with text and the way its choreographed within the book. The artist also has an extra dimension of the book as a physical object itself to consider when in production of their piece.

The author makes note of artists using found images, which is very appropriate and necessary to mention when speaking on photobooks. Collaging with found images and objects are just as thoughtful and hands on as an artist using photos they've taken.

The article talks about how photobooks have been produced throughout history, though museums for years were selective about what kind of photography was displayed, meaning they didnt accept photobooks into their galleries. This fact was interesting to me, it makes me think of photobooks being in some kind of underground culture, which makes me wonder why certain art like the photobook, that takes just as much creative contemplation and ability, have to go under more scrutiny then others in the museum world. Of course, this form of art is now featured throughout museums, and photobooks holds importance in the photography world as it is a blend of, as the author states, the aesthetic and the contextual.

Talbot/photobook reading response

The introduction of the photobook and the photograph in general has made an immense contribution to the world of art and literature. I honestly didn’t know much about the history of the photobook or how it came about until I was able to read the excerpts from The Photobook and the work from William Henry Fox Talbot’s book The Pencil of Nature. One of the first things I found interesting from the intro the photobook was the fact that “photography was conceived as the hybrid offspring of art and science…a surrogate method of making paintings…” I found this to be really stimulating in the realm of photography because it seems at first that society wanted to separate science and art in general, but through the actions of scientific illustrations and diagrams it became possible. The fact that there were two types of photographic histories, one focused on technical developments and the other on aesthetics was also very thought provoking. I realized that within all realms of photography there is always a sense of advancing and development that creates a sense of beauty within all photographs, whether they are good or bad. One last thing that I particularly liked about this reading was the topic of the functionality of the photobook. John Grossage said that “firstly, it should contain great work…” I strongly believe in this statement because I think that regardless of however much time was spent on the work or whatever idea was originally implemented for the work, the book should contain work that the author believes is truly great. While reading the history on the first photobooks I found out that the first types of photobooks were simple works such as travel books, works of art and archaeological photo books. Within this particular reading I found it interesting that the process of transferring the photographic image to a plate could then be printed on paper, but that the problem was with the tonal range that it produced. This problem apparently took over a decade to figure out which seems like a great deal of time to figure out tonal range properties within books. Although, I think it’s interesting that a process as simple as transferring images to plates to be printed onto paper influenced the idea for photobooks because you wouldn’t necessarily group the two mediums. This makes me think of William Henry Fox Talbot and his work The Pencil of Nature where science and art merged into one medium: The photobook.

Talbot’s book created a lot of reactions and stirred results from the public that no other book did at the time. The reasoning behind this was due to the fact that Talbot created a book that was much more that “just the photos…” I honesty believe that this is where science and art began to merge into one, similar realm, simply due to Talbot’s strong scientific background and his interest in scientific illustrations. While reading the two excerpts on Talbot and his writings, I found it peculiar that Talbot mentioned the function of the camera and the amount of information it receives. He took the example of a camera taking the same amount of time to capture a group shot of 3 people compared to just one single person. He found it interesting that the camera didn’t take longer to capture the group shot than it did with the single person shot. I never thought of the camera in that sense, as if the camera would need to take longer to snap a photo if more subjects are presented to its eye, like more information for the camera. Luckily this isn’t the case with cameras and especially now with our technology we can capture any amount of information in the same amount of time. When actually reading Talbot’s book, I felt like I was reading a scientific journal on experiments on photographic paper, and how to transfer images in great detail to paper, so that they could eventually be printed in books. Talbot writes of how he worked with photograms and the camera obscura to capture photos of anything from a person to a large building. He experimented with various salt baths and silver iodide that resulted in many different outcomes. One part of this that I really found beautiful was Talbot’s mention of the brush going over the paper and how it sometimes causes an irregularity. I liked this because I’m always looking for ways to achieve a sense of abstractness and “irregularity,” and this is one of the ways that I have even created some of my photos.

Overall I found all of the readings very motivating and exciting and I really feel like they helped me better understand the function of a photobook in general. I feel confident with creating more photobooks and think that learning the history behind them contributed to that. Not only have photobooks been around for years but the idea of having a photo represented in book form has questioned the minds of thousands of artist’s for centuries. With Talbot’s introduction of The Pencil of Nature many future photographers and book makers were able to have guidance for creating unique works of art.

Talbot Doin' Work

The Photobook

The concept of a photobook is quite new to me as I am used to mounting individual prints for display in a gallery, but I love the concept of individual photos merging together to make a larger, more substantial work. It is also foreign, but exciting, to think that photos can transcend the two dimensional realm of print or screen and become something akin to sculpture. There is so much room for creativity and uniqueness in photography as it stands, but creating a book out of one’s work allows for it to be even further differentiated.

Being both a filmmaker and avid reader, I was intrigued by the description of the photobook as “between the novel and film”. The most interesting aspect that both film and the photobook share is that you can weave together and elaborate narrative through visual elements. Visuals can stand on their own to develop themes. Like the novel, a photobook can be a bit more abstract than a film and incorporate text into its structure. This concept can leave a lot of room for an individual’s mind to link photos in one’s own way, rather than having them in an obvious linear motif like movies. There’s more opportunity for the reader to use their imagination rather than passively viewing work.

“I can’t draw so I’ll invent photography.” – W.F. Talbot

I was inspired by The Pencil of Nature and Talbot’s passion for what would become photography. It is difficult to imagine someone becoming frustrated with drawing and inventing an entirely new art form simply by thinking images could be captured by photochemical means (it takes a vast amount of scientific knowledge and foresight to make such a leap in thinking). Talbot not only figured out how to take photos, but how to reproduce them in large quantities for print—what good would photographic documents be if almost no one could see them? I would liken his printing of photos to an invention as revolutionary as the printing press as it allowed for the dissemination of photographic information all around the world. He asks himself at one point, “And why should it not be possible?" That is a mentality I would like to fully embrace with my photography.

Reading #1

While reading this first section of articles, particularly the expert from Talbot’s The Pencil of Nature, I began thinking of the competing draw of two types of photography - photographs that serve to recreate life as it is and photographs that attempt to alter and manipulate the way reality is perceived. Talbot, in his experiments, was attempting to create a device solely to record things as they are. What was interesting, however, was that at points he seemed very drawn in by the way his evolving medium would surprise him and do the opposite - present with an altered view of reality.

An example of this is in Talbot’s discovery of the negative technique. His discovery came when he was intrigued when the colors of an image he was experimenting in were reversed when he exposed them to light in the window. What drew Talbot in was his visual fascination with this sort of surreal perspective, stating that “after experiencing the beauty of this phenomenon” he attempted to preserve their appearance.

What was so interesting to me in this was that Talbot, a man completely focused on designing a method of accurately recreating life as it is, found so much “beauty” in the way the photographic negative manipulated reality in it’s reversal of colors. For me this hinted at the sort of intrinsic appeal of photography’s capability, even in it’s infancy, to manipulate real life but still have a strong link to it.

Reading #1

The Photobook: Between the  Novel and Film


          Photography in general seems to be society's red headed step child. From it's inception, it was the hybrid offspring of art and science, and today, even in the title of the assigned reading, it is described as something between novel and film.   Photography is "partly a surrogate method of making paintings, partly a new tool for garnering empirical knowledge, a new way of discovering the world". Even in creating photography people can't agree. Traditionally, there have been two main kinds of approaches. These consist of the technological approach, where the photographer focuses on technical developments. The second is the formalist approach, where emphasis is placed on the aesthetics.
      
         To take this conundrum one step further, would be to introduce the "Photobook". The photobook is described as a book- with or without text- where the work's primary message is carried by photographs. in less simple terms, "a photobook is an autonomous art form, comparable with a piece of sculpture, a play or a film. The photographs lose their photographic character as things 'in themselves' and become parts, translated into printing ing, of a dramatic event called a book".
    
        Creating a photobook is not as simple as it seems. In some works, text and photographs complement each other, while in others they compete. It is a fine balance and finding that balance can be difficult. Every decision put into a photobook can either make it or break it. The binding of the jacket, the typography, the paper all play a vital role in the success or failure of a photobook. There are also collaged photobooks and photobooks that only contain the photographs. In the 1920's and '30's, photobooks were able to be mass produced, after the development of the halftone printing block. After this, photobooks began to be thought of as autonomous art form, where not only the imagery, but also the design and presentation of the volume made it an object itself.

        Photobooks have been produced for years, all with different means in mind. Even ones created by artists do not necessarily mean they are art or recognized by the art world.  The photobook, is fundamentally simply a means of expression and dissemination for photographers. photobooks as a whole have been the largest most crucial move in photography, even more so than showing photographs in galleries. Obviously, there is something to be said for creating a photobook. Photobooks have earned an important role within the history of photography, "between the art and mass medium, between the journeyman and the artist, between the aesthetic and the contextual".

The Pencil of Nature

          The Pencil of Nature is a classic, and very rare. William Henry Fox Talbot took his account of the discovery of photographs and created this collection of paper photographs. It is the first book illustrated with photographs and the first mass production of photographs.  The author of this journal could only find 24 copies, with 11 of them being incomplete.

        It is interesting that the first published workable photographic system was initially thought of because he couldn't draw. The idea that one of the newest forms of art was created by someone who failed at the traditional forms is comical to me. Talbot also was a part of The Talbotype Establishment, which was the first mass production photofinishing laboratory in the world.

     The specifics of how the process changed in how the image was treated is interesting. I am curious if any of these processes are done today, or if things have become even easier in the dark room.  I also found that not all copies of Talbot's book are identical. Talbotype Establishment only printed four other publications, so the company in general wouldn't be very prominent in used book stores either I don't think.
    
       The last part of the Talbot reading was much more captivating to read, and flowed with more personality. I wish I could get a hold of the full Pencil of Nature photobook. It is pretty upsetting that the images in the book might have reacted to the adhesive or pages and started to disappear or become less impressive. Overall, these readings make Photobook sound 10 times more impressive and overwhelmingly scary to make. Now I am more nervous than ever for my first photobook to be due.

One of the things that I pondered on while reading the section on the earliest photobooks was that the critics of Talbot's The Pencil of Nature, where not fair in their critique. As I read the writings from the The Pencil of Nature, I really appreciated his telling of how he came about his discovery. I was amazed at his honesty of his mistakes that he came across during his experimentation and his rivalry/competition with Daguerre. These experiences in text helped make a narrative (though I have not seen all of the photographs). I can imagine that the photographs were not outstanding pictures but having experienced how intense scientific research can be, I can imagine visualizing Talbot's struggles with his discovery while going through his photobook (at least the first book). Talbot's photobook feels like a lab notebook with procedures and results. It also acts like a scientific research paper with an introduction, hypothesis/purpose, methods, results and discussion of results. To my mind, it is a narrative. I think the texts helped the photobook by giving it a sense of purpose - an intention. I think the book would have had a different meaning without the text.

Another thing I found interesting was how the museums, libraries and galleries influenced photography and the photobook. Also, how the early photobook helped cause people to go to places the photographers visited.

Lastly, according to the definitions and criteria that the authors of The Photobook: Between the Novel and Film, I could not help but wonder how similar these criteria were to the definition of the American narrative in film - it feels like nothing has been edited, it flows. So my question is are there any "independent" photobooks like there are independent filmmakers? To me, the article sounded like if a certain artist's photobook does not meet the given standards then it is not considered a good work.

One of the most interesting things to me in reading and thinking about the photobook is regarding it as a cohesive physical object with three dimensions, rather than a display of discrete, flat images. The collective effect is more important than that of the individual images. The sequencing, display, whether and how text is used, and other elements of construction are just as significant as the photographs.

Having taken art classes where photographic displays were placed on the wall, it is an entirely different way of thinking to begin considering these other features. I am very excited not only to experiment with sequencing my images, but also to think about the page-flipping experience and how that space in-between influences the flow of experiencing the book. The portability and reproducibility of the photobook are also practical, as they enable a greater dissemination of the artist’s material, greater permanence, and opportunity for prosperity and recognition.

I thought it was useful to think about sequencing as not necessarily narrative, but able to be done in an enormous potential of fascinating and meaningful ways. I was also very happy that the textbook discussed collaging versus using original work, coming to the conclusion that the collaged book is every bit as personal and creative as books using original work. I believe this is evident in looking at Joe Mills’ work, for the surrealistic effect of combining images seemed to necessitate collaging, and was certainly inventive and masterful.

The place of the postmodern seems huge in the photobook, over the strict high modernists’ concern more with the individual image. It is important to be able to move away from focusing within a single image, in order to be able to conceive of the greater possibilities offered in book form. The blending of mediums and technologies, especially in our contemporary society, makes possible deeper thought. To think about the photobook as a sculpture, film, or play can enable a more dynamic interaction between image, text and form.

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