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In a recent article/interview in Whitewall Magazine, Thomas Struth states that:
"Maybe photography has more or less lost its function, or its credibility in a certain way. There might be another two or three decades during which the whole course of practice can be reformulated in a different, more expansive mode.”
He said that just as painting lost its function to photography, photography lost its function to the Internet. Here is my response as a letter to Whitewall Magazine and to the Interviewer Gil Blank.
It would be best to consult the complete article as the abbreviated version, on-line, does not mention the quote nor flesh out the complex relationship of his assertion of photography's loss until later in printed article.
As I will be sending my letter soon, if you would like to add to or counter my assertion, please do so soon and I will include your comments. If you would like anonymity, please send your name and associated comments via e-mail.
Anyway, here's the letter:
Gil Blank
C/o Whitewall Magazine
135 William Street, #813
New York, NY 10038
Re: “The Tower and the View”
Dear Mr. Blank,
In this letter, I am responding to Thomas Struth’s statement in the Summer 2007 issue.
Struth said: “Maybe photography has more or less lost its function, or its credibility in a certain way. There might be another two or three decades during which the whole course of practice can be reformulated in a different, more expansive mode.”
Roughly translated, given the context of Struth's statement, he means: The function of a painting is to the function of a photograph as a function of a photograph is to the function of the Internet.
The function of a painting is to depict “The moment that looks before and after, gathering up all the past and indicating the eternal future—the moment when good is forever affirmed to be life, and evil, death. Thus the painting gathers up and expresses the whole range of ethical and religious conceptions of mediaeval Christianity, [for example] and is a fitting conclusion to the majestic interpretation of human history unrolled on the ceiling of the chapel by the same master hand.” - From: “The Meaning And Function Of Painting,” 1913, See: www.oldandsold.com/articles...-10.shtml
The function of a photograph could be the same as the painting.
The function of the Internet is more than one moment. It is more like the world, another dimension, which does not negate photography’s function, because like the Internet, snap shots of it’s reality on the visual plane are equal given the independency on the media of the portrayed image. Since photography is a mirror of life through a lens, a copy of reality, this is also what the Internet does.
They don’t compete. The relationship is symbiotic.
Sincerely,
Mario Savioni
Walnut Creek, CA
"Maybe photography has more or less lost its function, or its credibility in a certain way. There might be another two or three decades during which the whole course of practice can be reformulated in a different, more expansive mode.”
He said that just as painting lost its function to photography, photography lost its function to the Internet. Here is my response as a letter to Whitewall Magazine and to the Interviewer Gil Blank.
It would be best to consult the complete article as the abbreviated version, on-line, does not mention the quote nor flesh out the complex relationship of his assertion of photography's loss until later in printed article.
As I will be sending my letter soon, if you would like to add to or counter my assertion, please do so soon and I will include your comments. If you would like anonymity, please send your name and associated comments via e-mail.
Anyway, here's the letter:
Gil Blank
C/o Whitewall Magazine
135 William Street, #813
New York, NY 10038
Re: “The Tower and the View”
Dear Mr. Blank,
In this letter, I am responding to Thomas Struth’s statement in the Summer 2007 issue.
Struth said: “Maybe photography has more or less lost its function, or its credibility in a certain way. There might be another two or three decades during which the whole course of practice can be reformulated in a different, more expansive mode.”
Roughly translated, given the context of Struth's statement, he means: The function of a painting is to the function of a photograph as a function of a photograph is to the function of the Internet.
The function of a painting is to depict “The moment that looks before and after, gathering up all the past and indicating the eternal future—the moment when good is forever affirmed to be life, and evil, death. Thus the painting gathers up and expresses the whole range of ethical and religious conceptions of mediaeval Christianity, [for example] and is a fitting conclusion to the majestic interpretation of human history unrolled on the ceiling of the chapel by the same master hand.” - From: “The Meaning And Function Of Painting,” 1913, See: www.oldandsold.com/articles...-10.shtml
The function of a photograph could be the same as the painting.
The function of the Internet is more than one moment. It is more like the world, another dimension, which does not negate photography’s function, because like the Internet, snap shots of it’s reality on the visual plane are equal given the independency on the media of the portrayed image. Since photography is a mirror of life through a lens, a copy of reality, this is also what the Internet does.
They don’t compete. The relationship is symbiotic.
Sincerely,
Mario Savioni
Walnut Creek, CA
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Re: Has Photography lost its function to the Internet?
Fri, September 21, 2007 - 6:29 PMas always Mario, eloquently said. -
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Re: Has Photography lost its function to the Internet?
Sat, September 22, 2007 - 3:02 AMThank you, and congratulations on 6 weeks to go. What magic you and yours have brewed!
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