flusser towards a philosophy of photography summary

He has glimpsed the magical ability of a photographic image could destroy the one-dime. Is there no good thinking on photography other than Barthes' Camera Lucida? A version of Heidegger's 'The Age of the World Picture' where the fourfold take on its technical or cybernetic dimensions (i.e. The Apparatus Technical images are produced by apparatuses. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Tide 770.1 ISBN 1 86189 076 1 ductoryNote 7 The Image 8 | The Technical Image 14 The Apparatus 21 The Gesture of Photography 33 The Photograph 41 [ The Distribution of Photographs 49 The Reception of Photographs 57 1 Th e Photographic Univers 65 An analysis of the medium in terms of aesthetics, science and politics provided him with new ways of understanding both the cultural crises of the past and the new social forms nascent within them. Our society is saturated with these images, which leads us to believe in the images as reality itself. Texts on photography making you think photography - as system and function of the natural, scientific, and social worlds, rather than as an art or practice. As ek-sistence, is this our only way to comprehend it? Possibly the best way to think about the image is to understand the philosophy of photography. (German) Flusser: Towards a Philosophy of Photography « David Kutz Photograhy attempt to build a theoretical framework around photography, sometimes gratifying, but not always successful. These ideas are explored in great detail in the book that I find extremely interesting to read and think about. He states that the first humans were surrounded by their tools; then, as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution, humans began to surround their machines; finally, after th. For us to see why the amateur photographer can be a photographic illiterate, the democratization of the making of photographs has to be considered — and at the same time, a number of aspects of democracy in general have to be addressed.” (p. 57), “Amateur photographers’ clubs are places where one gets high on the structural complexities of cameras, where one goes on a photograph-trip — post-industrial opium dens.” (pg. 58), “The documentary photographer, just like the person taking snaps, is interested in continually shooting new scenes from the same old perspective. Twists, turns, red herrings, the usual suspects: These books have it all...and more. In here, Flusser was madly obsessed by the black-box of apparatuses—which means, I think, an interesting starting point to understand techne, or in that matters, technology. Brilliant writing, although admittedly strange: a book about the philosophy of photography that contains no images. We have been living witnesses that, in recent years, images have ceased to be mere text illustrations, to become the protagonists of the media. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. The thinking and writing here is in the stratosphere. And at the same time, Flusser has managed to incorporate aspects of both Adornonian and Heideggerian systems (who were rivals). While the book is ostensibly about photography, much of the thought is completely applicable to computers and modern digital technology. The Czech philosopher, naturalized Brazilian, Vilém Flusser (1920-1991) considers the invention of photography as important as the invention of writing. Autodidata, durante a Segunda Guerra, fugindo do nazismo, mudou-se para o Brasil, estabelecendo-se em São Paulo, onde atuou por cerca de 20 anos como professor de filosofia, jornalista, conferencista e escritor.Suas obras foram traduzidas para diversos idiomas. Each one of the basic concepts thus contains within it further concepts. But what appear to be their criteria for going beyond the camera nevertheless remain subordinate to the camera’s program. He diagnoses image-based media as a technological mediation that obscures our perception of reality while also presenting itself as an unbiased document of reality. "Human beings struggle against this natural entropy not only by receiving information but also storing and passing it on -". Media philosopher Vilém Flusser proposed a revolutionary new way of thinking about photography. Towards a Philosophy of Photography Vilem Flusser REAKTION BOOKS . That photographers are playing a game of operating the camera, but always within the programmed rules of the apparatus. Flusser also brings to mind Foucault in the sense that his philosophy allows for only the most elusive and problematic possibility of human agency. If you love mysteries and thrillers, get ready for dozens... Media philosopher Vilém Flusser proposed a revolutionary new way of thinking about photography. Flusser sums up quite neatly what it is in the final paragraph of the essay what he means by ‘ apparatus ‘. This results in a broader definition of a photograph: It is an image created and distributed automatically by programmed apparatuses in the course of a game necessarily based on chance, and image of a magic state of things whose symbols inform its receivers how to act in an improbable fashion. Just as almost everyone has learned to write and produce texts. Many photographers therefore also prefer black-and-white photographs to color photographs because they more clearly reveal the actual significance of the photograph, i.e. This book is not about photography - it is a political manifesto about freedom in a programmed world. Flusser aims to provide enough to get us started, and like all philosophies, it’s intended to just be a starting point. Towards a Philosophy of Photography. It also, as the title implies, does not try to be the end-all-be-all on photography. December 1st 2000 Media philosopher Vilém Flusser proposed a revolutionary new way of thinking about photography. What a mess. He describes two historical paradigm shifts: the invention of writing, which he situates in the second millennium BCE and the invention of photography in the 19th century. Brief. An analysis of the medium in terms of aesthetics, science and politics provided him with new ways of understanding both the cultural crises of the past and the new social forms nascent within them. Click here for a good wikipedia overview about Flusser and in particular a short essay about this book. Towards a Philosophy of Photography. Flusser's philosophies are a mastery. An interesting, fairly necessary slap in the face to get you to step outside yourself and consider the cultural reasoning behind any artistic action and expression through photography. Find books Admittedly, these are just introductory concepts not really fleshed out, but it's a push in the right direction - total consciousness of the culture around you and its reasons for existing in this manner. Below a more extended summary can be … So, inspired by friend-traffic on this site I'll begin a temporary but sustained one-per-day or so. Artist’s Talk || The Panorama and Vernacular Cultural Landscapes, Flusser: Towards a Philosophy of Photography, Sontag: Regarding the Pain of Others & Rosler: 3 Works, Sontag: On Photography & Barthes: Camera Lucida, Sebastião Salgado: Genesis & Climate Change. An analysis of the medium in terms of aesthetics, science and politics provided him with new ways of understanding both the cultural crises of the past and the new social forms nascent within them. Fascinating. What they produce are camera memories, not information, and the better they do it, the more they prove the victory of the camera over the human being.”, “The task of a philosophy of photography is to reflect upon this possibility of freedom - and thus its significance - in a world dominated by apparatuses; to reflect upon the way in which, despite everything, it is possible for human beings to give significance to their lives in the face of the chance necessity of death. Moholy-Nagy stated, “… that those who are ignorant in matters of photography will be the illiterates of tomorrow.” (p. 90), “The aim of any single photograph is — as Adorno says — the disclosure of the ‘logic of being produced’. A 'philosophy' book without references. Flusser's ability to get into my brain and poke at it never ceases to amaze me. Media philosopher Vilém Flusser proposed a revolutionary new way of thinking about photography. Vilém Flusser (May 12, – November 27, ) was a Czech-born The Shape of Things, was published in London in and was followed by a new translation of Towards a Philosophy of Photography. Fascinating way of thinking but sometimes it can be too hermetic for the reader. No question about the philosophical side of this book, some chapters put you on a situation of pure thinking and questioning the real photography value aswel as the problems raised by the democratization of photography in our society. Flusser’s references to the lost linearity of history almost make me nostalgic. Towards a Philosophy of Photography [Flusser, Vilem, Flusser, Vilm] on Amazon.com. inkjet, print. Towards a Philosophy of Photography eBook: Flusser, Vilém, Amelunxen, Hubertus von, Chalmers, Martin: Amazon.in: Kindle Store VIL&M FLUSSER A philosophy of photography is necessary because it is the only form of revolution left open to us. While Flusser did write a number of short essays on the work of specific photographers, his major focus was the critical and philosophical need to understand late 20th-century media culture and the emergent possibilities and threats presented by the larger forces at work in an increasingly technical and automated world. Towards A Philosophy of Photography Vilém Flusser Introductory Note This essay is based on the hypothesis that human civilization has seen two fundamental turning points since its beginnings. Towards a Philosophy of Photography Hello Select your address All Hello, Sign in. If you want to read about photographers or particular photographs, read others. Not only photos but also videos and other electronic media are co-responsible for this post-historical revolution. “This, I think, shows what being free means. Brief. This precise phenomenon seems to me to be one of the primary issues of contemporary life that is only now becoming an undeniable problem on the scale of an epidemic. Flusser's anti-quote bravado and originality is refreshing,vexing, and at times depressing...it changes how you see everything. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. He states that the first humans were surrounded by their tools; then, as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution, humans began to surround their machines; finally, after the invention of photography, humans came to reside within their image-making apparatuses, inside the thoroughly programmed and programmable black boxes of their cameras (shorthand for all systems that self-program by means of feedback). This book changed my life. Vilém Flusser (Praga, 12 de maio de 1920 — Praga, 27 de novembro de 1991) foi um filósofo Checo-brasileiro. … He describes two historical paradigm shifts: the invention of writing, which he situates in the second millennium BCE and the invention of photography in the 19th century. An important starting point for serious critical thought about the modern world. “The task of a philosophy of photography is to reflect upon this possibility of freedom - and thus its significance - in a world dominated by apparatuses; to reflect upon the way in which, despite everything, it is possible for human beings to give significance to their … He has glimpsed the magical ability of a photographic image could destroy the one-dimensional feature, linear, of the texts. An analysis of the medium in terms of aesthetics, science and politics provided him with new ways of understanding both the cultural crises of the past and the new social forms nascent within them. A multitude of quips, without thought, or little consistency with what he has said before or will say in the next sentence. Refresh and try again. Thus … I learned that a philosophy book can have hardly any references to other works of philosophy, be totally cracked in a manner that wins, contain no images while being all about images, be fun to read with a couple glasses of white swill, and extend its arms to consciousness with the sensitive insistence of an evil kitty. (p. 43), “Color photographs are on a higher level of abstraction than black-and-white ones. The Czech philosopher, naturalized Brazilian, Vilém Flusser (1920-1991) considers the invention of photography as important as the invention of writing. And at the same time, Flusser has managed to incorporate aspects of both Adornonian and Heideggerian systems (who were rivals). Click to read more about Towards a Philosophy of Photography by Vilém Flusser. Wow. And particularly, his ideas on the apparatus are wonderful thoughts. In this sense, all photographers’ criteria are contained within the camera’s program.” (p. 36), “It is true that one can still take new images, but they would be redundant, non-informative images, similar to those one has seen before. This wikipedia entry includes the follow quotation: Flusser developed a lexicon of terms that have proven influential and that continue to be useful for thinking about contemporary photography, digital imaging technologies and their online uses. This little hypothesis of Flusser's somehow manages to put to work most of my prior studies in philosophy, without even making a single citation. This theoretical classification cannot, however, be applied in practice since every scientific indicative has at the same time political and aesthetic aspects, every political imperative has scientific and aesthetic aspects, every optative (work of art) has scientific and political apsects. He diagnoses image-based media as a technological mediation that obscures our perception of reality while also presenting itself as an unbiased document of reality. Possibly the best way to think about the image is to understand the philosophy of photography. According to Flusser, the people who might answer these questions were neither philosophers nor academics, but those photographers who play against the apparatus “in pursuit of possibilities that are still unexplored in the camera’s program, in pursuit of informative, improbable images that have not been seen before.” The book looks more like a manifesto than like a philosophical study. The photographer in the sense intended here is, on the other hand, interested in seeing in continually new ways, i.e. This is a book that I will return to again and again. Highly recomended. 93). Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers In order to be able to choose camera-categories, as they are programmed on the camera’s exterior, photographers have to ‘set’ the camera, and that is a technical at, more precisely a conceptual act (‘concept’, … is a clear element of linear thought). An analysis of the medium in terms of aesthetics, science and politics provided him with new ways of understanding both the cultural crises of the … The first being the invention of linear writing and the second the invention of technical image making, initially through photography. A photograph is an image of concepts. the world of concepts. If you enjoyed this book, I highly recommend the companion text, Into the Universe of Technical Images. He lived for a long period in Brazil and later in France, and his works are written in several different languages. To see what your friends thought of this book. very short, very dense. Flusser showed how the transformation of textual into visual culture (from the li. An analysis of the medium in terms of aesthetics, science and politics provided him with new ways of understanding both the cultural crises of the past and the new social forms nascent within them. Welcome back. Anyone who is able to write can also read. Nevertheless, the distribution apparatuses practice precisely this theoretical classification. They submitted the texts to a supplementary or secondary role. (p. 76), From the afterword, written by: Hubertus von Amelunxen (for more on Hubertus, click here) Vilém Flusser's book, first published in German in 1983, constructs the first steps towards a philosophy of photography, or rather towards the question of whether or not all philosophy nowadays must be dedicated to thinking in terms of a photographic universe - in other words, committed to the paradox of philosophizing about the end of Becoming at the Coming of the end. In saying this, one presumes that the typical characteristics of apparatuses as such - … An interesting read and connected to Flusser's writings on writing (see 'Into Immaterial Culture'). I’ve become so used to devaluing stodgy linear progression in favor of non-linear multiple points of view and chance operations (in life, but most especially in art) that I’m quite surprised by the longing for such an historical model that Flusser’s writing provokes in me. If you have any interest in concepts of the information society, Baudrillardian simulation/simulacrum or even just like philosophy and image-making, it's worth a read. Ceases to amaze me good insights but also highly tendentious and ignores aesthetics far too much up neatly. Hinge '' that signals the start of a photographic image could destroy the one-dimensional feature, linear, of apparatus! Wrong with this preview of, Published December 1st 2000 by Reaktion books [ 1957ff ], c200.... 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