Unraveling the Discourse of Photography in 'Knowledge'
The 'Knowledge' series delves deep into photography-related knowledge and provokes thought. In this inaugural episode, we share the thoughts of the cizucu editorial team on photography.
The aura in contemporary photography, in other words, what is valued as art, has certainly transformed from the mystical, enigmatic presence found in art of the modern era and early photographs. Thus, we must re-examine.
What does photography mean to us living in the present? What significance does it hold?
Imagine encountering a celebrity on the street. Everyone quickly takes a photo with their smartphone camera. Even in that moment of taking the photo, we are viewing a world filtered through the smartphone's monitor.
When the shutter is pressed, the film does not decrease as a physical substance, and it is recorded in memory, ready to be shared worldwide.
Moreover, using AI image generation technology, one can create promotional materials or consume images as something resembling photographs. As image and photo consumption occurs side by side, considering 'How a photo is a photo, and Why a photo is a photo' is left to each viewer's perspective.
Photography's history is less than 200 years old. To understand the essence of this medium that has changed humanity's perspective and influenced aesthetics, we must reconsider photography not only in the present but across the time axis of past and future.
This introduction has become lengthy, but in this edition of the magazine, we will explore the concept of 'aura', indispensable in considering the value of photography. Let's reflect on the concept of aura, which imbues photographic works with artistic value, in the era that marked the dawn of reproduction technology.
The Time with Aura Does Not Return
German philosopher Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) discusses 'aura' in his book 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' (1935).
What is aura? It is a strange tapestry woven from space and time. That is, no matter how close it is, it is a unique appearance of distance. On a summer afternoon, relaxing, following the mountain range on the horizon, or the shadow cast by a tree branch on the one relaxing—this is to breathe the aura of this mountain range, the aura of this tree branch (1)
The singular moment of 'now' and 'here', something unique where space and time converge, like following someone relaxing with your eyes. That is the 'aura' Benjamin describes.
atget Faucheurs, somme A photograph by the renowned early photographer Eugène Atget
What a difficult concept to put into words. However, let's think about it sensibly.
With a camera in hand, you observe people crossing an intersection from a building above and capture the moment they meet in the center. Isn't the time of those trying to cross the road captured there? This moment will never come again, as it is impossible for the same people to wear the same clothes and cross the intersection in the same positions.
Image by hikaru masamiya
The value inherent in each photograph may arise from such an auratic perspective. However, aura is a very sensory concept, and its meaning can greatly change depending on the subject.
As AI image generation technology is discussed as a technology that changes the meaning of aura in photography, there is also talk that the invention of photography was debated as a reproduction technology to replace painting. In the next Knowledge, let's delve deeper into the discussion of aura in photography.
Citations
(1) Walter Benjamin, 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', in 'Benjamin Collection (1)', edited and translated by Kenjiro Asai and Tetsuji Kubo, Chikuma Gakugei Bunko, 1995