The Ephemeral

the new life of photography

photo by Alinne Rezende

This article is a continuation or maybe an evolution of the article on repeatability, if you have not read it, my dear reader, perhaps this is a good opportunity. In the previous article, we talked about repeatability in photographic language and how repetition leads to boredom. But this time, we will delve into the excessive amount of images and their relation to time. After all, could you tell me what is the lifespan of a photograph nowadays?

Repeatability is precisely a consequence of this excess of images we produce daily, which we cannot possibly consume, creating an accelerated image-time relationship, just as we also create an aura.

In the past, the photographic aura was related to the limited access coming from a single copy or its original — the negative. With the advent of digital, photography takes its technical reproducibility and aims to reach an increasing number of viewers, not only that but also the greatest visibility in the shortest possible time. To the point of seeking a new attempt to rescue this lost aura, through the ephemeral. Stories (where images are available for a limited time only) clearly exemplify this search, where the temporary availability added to the image a meaning for consumption only because of its temporary possibility.

Amid a growing number of images produced, the quality of information transmission is no longer enough, we need other values besides the information or aesthetics. We need something to capture our attention to these superfluous images, which by themselves do not fulfill their function of social interaction efficiently.

Photography becomes the excuse for our virtual existence. Even with all the possibilities that digital adds to it nowadays, we need to rethink photography beyond the spectrum we are familiar with. The easy access allows any individual to be an image producer, making the image (that was once just icons, symbols, and indexes) something more — even if that “more” is shallow in meaning, information, or aesthetics. Photography begins to gain a “human function,” it becomes our external memory.

The ephemeral in photography only shows our distortion in relation to the time-image. On one hand, it releases the creativity of the weight of eternity, it gives possibilities to the unfinished. But on the other hand, would this be the salvation of repeatability, or is it just another way to beg for a little bit more human contact in the unreal world we create? Let’s think.

Adeus Fotografia two videos produced by Guilherme Vieira (http://cargocollective.com/guilhermevieira) exploring the effect of some chemicals on a printed image. The result is photography still represents, even nowadays, the evidence of truth fading in establishing a real connection with the ephemeral. https://vimeo.com/6406806

Text originally published on http://revistaold.com/blog/o-efemero-a-vida-util-da-fotografia-na-era-pos-digital/