I been handed the baton of my own personal history. My whole life has been documented (mostly by my dad) — who am I to give up now, not everyone is given this gift. I have the resources, skills, knowledge, support and inclination to preserve life (preferably on paper) — my efforts are always appreciated, even by family and friends who are not driven to the same extremes...
For me, and for most of its existence, photography has been about preserving something fleeting — light as it is at a moment in time... Would we find William Henry Fox Talbot turning in his grave if he knew the abandons with which we now scatter our captured rays?
I admit, I too am careless with the shots I take, one hit wonders designed to service my immediate purpose, be it communication (with those distant in being but brought close by technology) or notation (despite the numerous writing instruments I carry with me at all times). I am trying to be more conservative and mindful (pardon the self-help buzzword) of the photographs I make. At one time every frame was made at great expense, today the cost for most people is negligible — we don’t need to wait until relatives die so they can sit still enough for t...
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Barrier – an obstacle or circumstance that prevents or threatens future access to photographs.
Alleviation – a process or action that reduces a barrier to keeping photographs for posterity.
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Background: As a photography student in the first decade of the 21st century, I was taught to revere both the qualities of the printed photograph and the ephemeral nature of digital files.
Context: Until recently, the goal of photography has been to fix shadows upon a surface for future viewing. Today, photographs often remain in a state of flux, and we are overwhelmed by their abundance, without really understanding their nature. Whilst institutions employ experts to take responsibility for collecting and preserving collective photographic history, individuals are frequently adopting new photographic practices, even before considering the implications for future generations. If photographs are to be available in the future, then individuals must take responsibility for maintaining their own photographic archives.
Question: How could we alleviate barriers to keeping photographs for posterity?
Objectives: To identify barriers we currently face in keeping photographs for posterity, to propose approaches for alleviating these barriers, and to produce a collection of photo-media based artworks, suitable for exhibition, that creatively respond to the research question.
Methodology: There is no longer a clear...
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Barriers
Volume Excess Surfeit Abundance
Fragility
Alleviations
Curation
Durability Antrifragility Permanence Fixity
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What barriers exist to keeping photographs for posterity?
How can these barriers be alleviated?
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How could we mitigate alleviate barriers obstacles
to keeping conserving
our photographs for posterity?
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A photograph is always of the past, therefore all existing photographs have survived to reside in the present future...
How can we ensure the perpetual existence of our photographs into the future? How could we mitigate barriers to keeping photographs for posterity?
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Conversations with my sister recently reignighted my role as family historian. It’s been more than a few years since I’ve actively researched ancestors, known and unknown — I was surprised at how quickly, and easily, I fell back down the rabbit hole, into a wonderland of information. I was particularly delighted to discover photographs I’d never seen, of relatives I’ve never met. While I do wonder about the joy these photographs bring me, I’m curiouser (and curiouser) about the journey of these photographs, from their past, into my future.
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On the 12th of April 2015 I attended Dark Matter: Photo Histories and Archives, a photography symposium at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Today, I discovered my scribbled notes in the back of a notebook (transporting me back to that orange carpeted lecture theatre). Here are some of the notable ideas raised:
- Everyone who photographs needs to deal with large numbers of digital files
- Multiplication of digital archives everyday
- Photography was made to archive us
- What is our motivation to record and disseminate photographs?
- What happens to photographs after Facebook?
- Obsolescence of technology
- A lottery, looking back – what has survived what has not?
- Are institutions responsible for archiving?
- Digital archives are inheritantly fragile
- Why do we want to keep hold of this stuff?
- The need to gather, in preparation for what?
- The easier to archive, the easier to throw out
- Compulsion to keep records
- Donation of photographs to pub...
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Is the photographic print still of significance in a digital age? (2014)
What are the implications of ceasing to print photographs?(2014)
What will become of our digital photographs if we fail to transport them into the world as objects in their own right?(2014)
Will today’s personal photographs will be preserved for future generations? (2016)
What are the merits of preserving personal photographs? (2016)
What’s the current state of personal photographic archives in Australia? (2016)
What photographic storage methods are available? (2016)
What threatens the future permanence of personal photographs? (2017)
Where/how do personal photographs currently exist? (2017)
Why future-proof personal photographs? (2017)
What value do personal photographs have? (2017)
In what states can our photographs exist? (2017)
What is the state of photo objects in our lives (2017)
How can we keep photographs? (2018)
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