On page 425, Siegfried Kracauer writes, “Photography grasps what is given as a spatial (or temporal) continuum; memory-images retain what is given only insofar as it has significance.” This quote is meaningful because it defines the importance of memory in relation to photography; memory aids in the interpretation and gives meaning to photography. A photograph captures a moment in time whereas a memory is retained images with personal significance. This poses the idea that a photograph lacks meaning if there is no history or relation to it. A person can look at a photo taken by any photographer and not be “moved” by it simply because there is no history to make that connection. Memory is what creates these connections and puts meaning behind a photo. A photograph can capture spatial details of any given moment, but, without memory, these details are irrelevant.
Nice work, Judy. Your explanation gets to the question of "significance" and whether or not this quality is objective or subjective. In other words, does the photograph have significance in and of itself? Or is the significance in the viewer's mind and connected to his or her own personal experience. This is a question one could ask of all art . . .
According to Stiegfried Kracauer on page 431 he states, "For they do not make visible the knowledge of the original, but rather the spatial configuration of a moment; it is not the person who appears in his or her photograph, but the sum of what can be deducted from him or her." This quote is meaningful because the majority of people just look at what appears in the original and they don't really see the meaning of what or who is behind the photograph. In addition, with out truly understanding the meaning behind it in any photograph you take away its value and that's what Stiegfried Kracauer means when he says "but the sum of what can be deducted from him or her."
Nice work, Cassandra. This quote is nice because it captures the paradox of the photograph as both object and experience, as something that occupies both space and time.
According to Triibner on page 427 he states, "Cross the way there's a Photographer. If you want to have wrinkles and folds then you'd better hire him, he'll put 'em all in; me, I paint history."
I feel that this quote is meaningful in the way that this painter turns down an older man because he doesn’t paint portraits of people's details, of how they look at the time being. He does not go into so much detail. Besides that, the painter is inspired by things that have occurred in the past. He defines himself as a painter who only paints historical events and feels the passion, visions things, constructs by using his imagination and then creates the art that once lived or made a change in history itself. Painting is more than just a simple click that will take your picture, its about the deep thought and concentration, and skills that show the passion for the art.This is why I think this quote is meaningful, because of how art is just not about painting or taking a picture, it’s about trying to introduce and show some type of meaning behind it. Triibner paints history to show the modern world a quick peek of what our old historical events looked like. That was my understanding, and I see where he is going with it but I also feel his passion for what he does.
On page 429, Kracauer states, "One may have one's doubts in the end as to whether her decisive trait is really the demonic. But even the demonic is less something conveyed by the photograph than it is the impression of the cinemagoers who experience the original on the screen". This quote really struck me as meaningful because it proves that the way viewers see something varies with each person. Viewing something as demonic is simply one's opinion and may contrast the viewer next to them. Kracauer shows that is it important to try to fully understand the art as a whole rather than jump to conclusions. My favorite part is the second sentence because art is subjective to whomever is viewing it.
Nice work, Molly. "Demonic" here doesn't have to be negative (thought it usually is in modern conversation). Traditionally, it used to mean something that had an excess of unexplained vitality and energy, almost as if it were powered from without, by some external source. Thus, a "demonic" photograph isn't evil necessarily; it's just one that seems to have an unexplained energy to it.
"Memory encompasses neither the entire spatial appearance nor the entire temporal course of an event." (Kracauer 425)
I like how this quote tells so much about the human mind. Memories are photographs in our head of the past, and they develop the present. Photographs are memories, as memories are photographs. But neither of these really depict time or orientation, they leave out the facts and present the feelings and emotions. Photographs have a sort of truth to them, they show emotions and tell the true story behind a sort of time. This is interesting to see the parallel between memories and photographs, because both are so similar. But the main difference here is that no photograph can be manipulated by human imagination. It is what it is; you cannot manipulate a photograph to reflect your desires, as a memory can. Yet, both memories and photographs are stuck in time. I really like the sense of time applied to these in the paper.
"While time is not part of the photograph like the smile or the chignon, the photograph itself, so it seems to them, is a representation of time"- 424
I liked this quote because it talked about how photos we take today may not be perceived how we meant them to be perceived when we took them. The photo may be taken out of context, and the people observing the photo in the future may see it as something that is in the background that is significant instead of the action that someone was doing in the photo. This is what the author meant when they talked about how photos demonstrate a time period instead of the elegance inside of the photo. I never thought of photos being perceived that way until I read this , I liked it.
"Great historical figures survive in legends that, however naive they may be, strive to preserve their actual history. In authentic fairy tales, the imagination has intuitively deposited typical monograms. In a photograph a person's history is buried as if under a layer of snow."-426
This quote stood out to me because so often we fixate on a specific aspect of history. We fail to delve deeper into stories, relying only on what historians have deemed important. Fairy tales,evolve to fit our imaginations, yet the true story is often less palatable. Photographs have a way of capturing a moment in time while sometimes blurring out the back story. The author understands the importance of looking at the "bigger picture" and hopes to relay this concept to his readers.
"Photography grasps what is given as a spacial (or temporal) continuum; memory-images retain what is given only insofar as it has significance." (Kracauer, 425)
This quote was intriguing to me as I had just picked out a picture to email off for this class assignment. As I was browsing pictures I had taken, I see how photography captures a specific moment in time. While through photography one can capture and display emotion, the picture itself is more significant with the flood of memories, stories, and emotions the photographer feels when revisiting an old photo. The author conveys photos can be perceived differently through the eyes of individuals, however; with the pieces of both memory and photography we can build and understand the real back story. And sometimes, without a visual photograph to refer to, memories are remembered on significance and sometimes the details photographs can remind us on are forgotten.
"No matter which scenes a person remembers, they all mean something that is relevant to him or her without his or her necessarily knowing what they mean." (Kracauer, 425)
I enjoyed this quote because it got me to think about some of my memories and their meanings. To be more specific, is to what certain scenes mean. For example, I clearly remember a scene from my times in junior high where I would go to restroom stall. It is a trivial memory, but I still decided to remember it because it is relevant to me, even though I do not know what it means. Throughout our lives we have these insignificant memories that we have stored, but sometimes have a hard time finding their meanings if there is one. I really thought this quote was fascinating because it got me to think and reflect about my memories.
"Yet such testimonies are unreliable. It might turn out that the photograph does not depict the grandmother after all but rather a girlfriend that resembled her." (Kracauer, 423) This statement caught my attention because it referred to how life can be deceiving. In this case, a grandmother could have claimed that a photograph of her friend was herself, but there are many other things around us that have some sort of underlying meaning or do not appear as they seem. For example, one person may always have a smile on his or her face but could be carrying deep emotional scars that are being hidden. I thought this was interesting because I usually have some sort of suspicion when something seems too good to be true or is just very surprising. It can be applied to so much more than just photography.
Nice work, Shelby. This discussion of "reliability" applies to both our memories and photography. There have been many times when someone will show me a picture, and I'll say "I don't remember that." Other times, there will be a photograph in which I look happy, but I know (from my own circumstances at the time) that the appearance in the photograph is not the reality.
"The selection may have been made this way rather than another because disposition and purposes required the repression, falsification, and emphasis of certain parts of the object; a virtually endless number of reasons determines the remains to be filtered. No matter which scenes a person remembers, they all mean something that is relevant to him or her without his or her necessarily knowing what they mean." (Kraceuer, 425).
I chose this quote because of the insight Kracauer gives regarding how our memory differs from reality. He states that each of our perceived images, of what we believe to have been reality, will be unique and differ from person to person. For example, while one individual may remember a certain event as being bright and sunny because he or she simply had an outstanding day; another may recall the exact event as fair or overcast because he had a less than adequate experience in this memory. Both remember the same event, but both have very different perceptions of what the weather was like that day. An infinite amount of tiny or large difference can be made from any single memory given the recollection from two separate individuals. This is where the distinction between the photograph and memory takes place. Whereas the image of the memory is reliant on the subconscious of the person who remembers; the image of a photograph will remain constant. The photograph knows nothing of the individual or event that is taking place. The photographs record only the temporal events because it has no subconscious. It records the true reality of an event.
According to Kracauer on page 426 he states, "In a photograph a person's history is buried as if under a layer of snow".
This quote from the article "Photography" caught my attention because I believe it to be true. A picture can mean a thousand words but it doesn't necessarily mean a thousand true words. A photograph is a still image captured at that instant. A persons history is basically irrelevant or hidden. For example, I think about a photograph of my grandmother when we we were at Disneyland. It's a great picture that captured her good spirits but the photo doesn't reveal her past struggles with cancer.
According to Kracauer, "Memory does not pay much attention to dates; it skips years or stretches temporal distance...Memories are retained because of their significance for that person."
When I think back about a certain person, I remember all the times we have together in glimpses over a period of time. Its different than a picture and the best way to describe it would be a very fast slideshow with emotions included. There are certain people that have impacted me in such a positive way that even though there might be some bad memories, I tend to only remember positive ones. Funny how that works. With someone I don't like, it is hard to think of positive memories, even if there are a select few, because the bad overtakes the good. They say to live in the moment, but I find myself thinking of memories all the time. Because memories do span a distance of time, I feel it is important to stay a balanced and consistent person, so that people will always have good thoughts about you.
"Once the grandmother's costume has lost its relationship to the present it will no longer be funny, but peculiar like a submarine octopus." - Siegfried Kracauer's “Photography" p 435
I found Kracauer's quote on the time sensitive nature of photography meaningful for it reminded me of the questions I raised upon viewing a historical photograph of a woman during the Qajar reign. The photo displayed a scene of a young veiled woman standing in front of an intricately adorned building, perhaps a mosque, while wearing a mini-skirt. I thought the scene peculiar and in particular the seemingly at odds attire. Was this a common way to dress during the time? I did not know, but my line of thinking follows the observation Kracauer had noted years before. That of the limitations of photography at preserving personal memories.
In Kracauer's example, initial reactions of a photograph, not unlike my own, brings forth laughter. However, over time the very same photograph is viewed under a different lens, a more detached lens, and the reaction changes. The scene is now odd and that is because the context brought by familiarity vanishes. There is no longer an explanation which humanises the subject or ties the photograph to a history or a context. Rather the photo stands upon its own merits, an internal explanation.
Stiegfried Kracauer stated on page 431 of “Photography” that “Like the photo- graphic image, the playing of an old hit song or the reading of letters written long ago also conjures up anew a disintegrated unity.” This quote brings together many forms of retaining memories, which humans use and cherish. However the irony is that these memories are in the past, they are in fact disintegrated from us so the significance of the photo, song or letter is in the hands of the beholder. Many find that by enveloping ourselves in these forms of what was once unity, solace is found. This is something that is quite unique to our species as no other species is able to capture a moment in time whether it be by song, picture or letter and save this precious gem for future generations.
Page 425 "Since what is significant is not reducible to either merely spatial or merely temporal terms, memory are at odds with photographic representation." I started this post by defining a few terms. Temporal is defined as relating to worldly as opposed to spiritual or relating to time. At odds is defined as in conflict. Spatial is defined as relating to space. This quote stood out to me because I disagree with author. Though what is significant cannot be reduced by space, time, or worldly relation, the author made clear previously that significant in this phrase was referring to memories. This is true. Where I disagree is the statement that photographs and memories are in conflict with one another. I remember the day while I was a teenager my little brother was born. I remember the hospital room where my sister and i fed him. But it wasn't until I saw a picture that i remembered what we were wearing, or how I had done my hair that morning. The photograph strengthened my memories. It made me remember more than I previously had remembered. The photograph brought more significance and emotion to an already emotional memory. Instead of saying the two are at odds, I would prefer the author said they are complimentary. Where one fails or leaves holes the other fills in.
Siegfried Kracauser states, "Once a photograph ages, the immediate reference to the original is no longer possible (429)." This quote is powerful because as a photograph ages; it is difficult to remember in depth of the scene captured. As time passes, there is less memory images that can be told to a third person. We humans forget or change the true meaning of a photograph. Therefore, the reference no longer exist.
"The last memory-image outlasts time because it is unforgettable; the photograph, which refers to nor encompasses such a memory-image, must be essentially associated with the moment in time at which it came into existence". (Krakauer. 428)
This quote caught my attention because the author made me think of photography in a different perspective. Krakauer differentiates the meaning of memories and pictures. A memory becomes unforgettable because it encloses truth while photographs, on the other hand, present an image at a spatial continuum. It does not capture any meaning or truth. It was interesting to me to read this entry because I learned into depth how pictures can be deceiving of the truth that lies behind it. A photograph can be our reference guide to the library of memories that we captivate each and every day. It resembles an artificial stamp in our life that we can easily relate as to what we were feeling at that specific moment of time.
"No matter which scenes a person remembers, they all mean something that is relevant to him/her without his/her necessarily knowing what they mean." Kracauer, 425
This quote is meaningful because sometimes people don't pay attention to the things that are in front of us. It's only when we realize that they had a special meaning that we acknowledge those scenes. For example, we might visit a place and have a good time there, but it is only when we remember how happy It made us that we appreciate it. Of course this can be vice versa between good and bad memories.
On page 429, Seigfried Kracauser states, "The old photograph has been emptied of the life whose physical presence overlay its merely spatial configuration." This quote is powerful because it reestablishes the importance of a person's memories. Without a underlining story, photographs are just constructed images. Photographs shows the physical, but the memory shows the heart. Therefore, when a person's memory dies, the life of the photo dies as well.
“If it is only the photograph that endows these details with duration, it is not at all they who outlast mere time, but, rather, it is time that makes images of itself out of them.” (Kracauer. 424)
This quote caught my attention because Kracauer expresses a different view of photography with the concept of time. A photo can mean nothing to someone because they cannot significantly interpret of what is going on behind the photo. The “time” or process of the photo is what makes a photo substantial. For instance, when I was looking through old photos in my mom’s photo album, I would remember all the good times and bad times that I had with my cousins. Going back in time with a photo is what makes a photo special. That is why this quote is meaningful to me.
"The essence of film is, to a certain extent, the essence of time." (Krakauer, 429)
This quote really caught my attention because I feel like it really captures the meaning of photography. We take pictures on "special occasions" or at times when we think we want a memory of the place, an event, or a trip. Those thing seem very important at the moment, but this may not hold true in the future and this quote is great at explaining this: which is that what we think is important in the present will at one point be seen as the past and may not be important anymore.
"The last memory-image outlasts time because it is unforgettable; the photograph, which neither refers to nor encompasses such a memory-image, must be essentially associated with the moment in time at which it came into existence." Kracauer 428
The way Kracauer describes photography is beautiful. In the quote above he describes photography as a way to remember moments throughout life. Today a lot of people take pictures of anything and everything for social media without giving it much thought. I think people need to remember how meaningful photography can be. One picture can bring back tons of memories and in the quote above Kracauer begins to explain this. He shows the reader how unforgettable memories can be and how photography can aid someone in remembering.
In Siegfried Kracauer’s “Photography,” he quotes, “It is only the very old traditional dress, a dress that has lost all contact with the present, that can attain the beauty of a ruin” (430). This excerpt is meaningful because it illustrates how people begin to devalue items, such as photographs, over time. For example, the old image gets removed from the photo frame so that an up-to-date snapshot can take its place. This old image is then put into a storage container or album, and isn’t paid attention to for years. During this elapsed time, the significance and understanding of the previous picture gradually diminishes, because the mind is now shadowed by more recent photographic memories. However, when the aged photograph is eventually viewed again, it holds a different beauty in it all together, even if its meaning has been forgotten. It encompasses a quality that cannot be found easily in current photography. I assume this may be the reason why antique and vintage art is pricey.
"One must rid oneself of the delusion that it is the major events which have the most decisive influence on people. They are much more deeply and continuously influenced by the tiny catastrophes which make up daily life" (Kracauer 422).
I find this quote to be direct and accurate. Although the major events do impact ones life and the direction one may take, it is the day to day trials that strengthen our character and ultimately make us who we are. Personally, I have found this to be true. The daily challenges we overcome prepare us mentally and physiologically for the more complex, and thankfully less frequent, experiences of greater magnitude.
"The old photgraph has been emptied of the life whose physical presence overlay its merely spatial confirguration." (Kracauer 429)
This quote caught my attention becasue a photograpgh marks thier territory at a time and place and it has been embolded to life. Its like writting an essay on a white blank piece of paper and the white paper a meaning. Same goes for this quote, you put a memory on a blank photograph that has been engraved. An old photograph doesnt dies from the presence time but offers a storyline.
On page 425, Siegfried Kracauer writes, “Photography grasps what is given as a spatial (or temporal) continuum; memory-images retain what is given only insofar as it has significance.” This quote is meaningful because it defines the importance of memory in relation to photography; memory aids in the interpretation and gives meaning to photography. A photograph captures a moment in time whereas a memory is retained images with personal significance. This poses the idea that a photograph lacks meaning if there is no history or relation to it. A person can look at a photo taken by any photographer and not be “moved” by it simply because there is no history to make that connection. Memory is what creates these connections and puts meaning behind a photo. A photograph can capture spatial details of any given moment, but, without memory, these details are irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Judy. Your explanation gets to the question of "significance" and whether or not this quality is objective or subjective. In other words, does the photograph have significance in and of itself? Or is the significance in the viewer's mind and connected to his or her own personal experience. This is a question one could ask of all art . . .
DeleteAccording to Stiegfried Kracauer on page 431 he states, "For they do not make visible the knowledge of the original, but rather the spatial configuration of a moment; it is not the person who appears in his or her photograph, but the sum of what can be deducted from him or her." This quote is meaningful because the majority of people just look at what appears in the original and they don't really see the meaning of what or who is behind the photograph. In addition, with out truly understanding the meaning behind it in any photograph you take away its value and that's what Stiegfried Kracauer means when he says "but the sum of what can be deducted from him or her."
ReplyDeleteNice work, Cassandra. This quote is nice because it captures the paradox of the photograph as both object and experience, as something that occupies both space and time.
DeleteAccording to Triibner on page 427 he states, "Cross the way there's a
ReplyDeletePhotographer. If you want to have wrinkles and folds then you'd better
hire him, he'll put 'em all in; me, I paint history."
I feel that this quote is meaningful in the way that this painter turns down an older man because he doesn’t paint portraits of people's details, of how they look at the time being. He does not go into so much detail. Besides that, the painter is inspired by things that have occurred in the past. He defines himself as a painter who only paints historical events and feels the passion, visions things, constructs by using his imagination and then creates the art that once lived or made a change in history itself. Painting is more than just a simple click that will take your picture, its about the deep thought and concentration, and skills that show the passion for the art.This is why I think this quote is meaningful, because of how art is just not about painting or taking a picture, it’s about trying to introduce and show some type of meaning behind it. Triibner paints history to show the modern world a quick peek of what our old historical events looked like. That was my understanding, and I see where he is going with it but I also feel his passion for what he does.
On page 429, Kracauer states, "One may have one's doubts in the end as to whether her decisive trait is really the demonic. But even the demonic is less something conveyed by the photograph than it is the impression of the cinemagoers who experience the original on the screen". This quote really struck me as meaningful because it proves that the way viewers see something varies with each person. Viewing something as demonic is simply one's opinion and may contrast the viewer next to them. Kracauer shows that is it important to try to fully understand the art as a whole rather than jump to conclusions. My favorite part is the second sentence because art is subjective to whomever is viewing it.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Molly. "Demonic" here doesn't have to be negative (thought it usually is in modern conversation). Traditionally, it used to mean something that had an excess of unexplained vitality and energy, almost as if it were powered from without, by some external source. Thus, a "demonic" photograph isn't evil necessarily; it's just one that seems to have an unexplained energy to it.
Delete"Memory encompasses neither the entire spatial appearance nor the
ReplyDeleteentire temporal course of an event." (Kracauer 425)
I like how this quote tells so much about the human mind. Memories are photographs in our head of the past, and they develop the present. Photographs are memories, as memories are photographs. But neither of these really depict time or orientation, they leave out the facts and present the feelings and emotions. Photographs have a sort of truth to them, they show emotions and tell the true story behind a sort of time. This is interesting to see the parallel between memories and photographs, because both are so similar. But the main difference here is that no photograph can be manipulated by human imagination. It is what it is; you cannot manipulate a photograph to reflect your desires, as a memory can. Yet, both memories and photographs are stuck in time. I really like the sense of time applied to these in the paper.
Nice work, Christine. This quote shows how our memories are often fragmented, similar to photographs.
Delete"While time is not part of the photograph
ReplyDeletelike the smile or the chignon, the photograph itself, so it seems to
them, is a representation of time"- 424
I liked this quote because it talked about how photos we take today may not be perceived how we meant them to be perceived when we took them. The photo may be taken out of context, and the people observing the photo in the future may see it as something that is in the background that is significant instead of the action that someone was doing in the photo. This is what the author meant when they talked about how photos demonstrate a time period instead of the elegance inside of the photo. I never thought of photos being perceived that way until I read this , I liked it.
"Great historical figures survive in legends that, however naive they may be, strive to preserve their actual history. In authentic fairy tales, the imagination has intuitively deposited typical monograms. In a photograph a person's history is buried as if under a layer of snow."-426
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me because so often we fixate on a specific aspect of history. We fail to delve deeper into stories, relying only on what historians have deemed important. Fairy tales,evolve to fit our imaginations, yet the true story is often less palatable. Photographs have a way of capturing a moment in time while sometimes blurring out the back story. The author understands the importance of looking at the "bigger picture" and hopes to relay this concept to his readers.
"Photography grasps what is given as a spacial (or temporal) continuum; memory-images retain what is given only insofar as it has significance." (Kracauer, 425)
ReplyDeleteThis quote was intriguing to me as I had just picked out a picture to email off for this class assignment. As I was browsing pictures I had taken, I see how photography captures a specific moment in time. While through photography one can capture and display emotion, the picture itself is more significant with the flood of memories, stories, and emotions the photographer feels when revisiting an old photo. The author conveys photos can be perceived differently through the eyes of individuals, however; with the pieces of both memory and photography we can build and understand the real back story. And sometimes, without a visual photograph to refer to, memories are remembered on significance and sometimes the details photographs can remind us on are forgotten.
"No matter which scenes a person remembers, they all mean something that is relevant to him or her without his or her necessarily knowing what they mean." (Kracauer, 425)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this quote because it got me to think about some of my memories and their meanings. To be more specific, is to what certain scenes mean. For example, I clearly remember a scene from my times in junior high where I would go to restroom stall. It is a trivial memory, but I still decided to remember it because it is relevant to me, even though I do not know what it means. Throughout our lives we have these insignificant memories that we have stored, but sometimes have a hard time finding their meanings if there is one. I really thought this quote was fascinating because it got me to think and reflect about my memories.
"Yet such testimonies are
ReplyDeleteunreliable. It might turn out that the photograph does not depict the
grandmother after all but rather a girlfriend that resembled her." (Kracauer, 423)
This statement caught my attention because it referred to how life can be deceiving. In this case, a grandmother could have claimed that a photograph of her friend was herself, but there are many other things around us that have some sort of underlying meaning or do not appear as they seem. For example, one person may always have a smile on his or her face but could be carrying deep emotional scars that are being hidden. I thought this was interesting because I usually have some sort of suspicion when something seems too good to be true or is just very surprising. It can be applied to so much more than just photography.
Nice work, Shelby. This discussion of "reliability" applies to both our memories and photography. There have been many times when someone will show me a picture, and I'll say "I don't remember that." Other times, there will be a photograph in which I look happy, but I know (from my own circumstances at the time) that the appearance in the photograph is not the reality.
Delete"The selection may have been made this way rather than another because disposition and purposes required the repression, falsification, and emphasis of certain parts of the object; a virtually endless number of reasons determines the remains to be filtered. No matter which scenes a person remembers, they all mean something that is relevant to him or her without his or her necessarily knowing what they mean." (Kraceuer, 425).
ReplyDeleteI chose this quote because of the insight Kracauer gives regarding how our memory differs from reality. He states that each of our perceived images, of what we believe to have been reality, will be unique and differ from person to person. For example, while one individual may remember a certain event as being bright and sunny because he or she simply had an outstanding day; another may recall the exact event as fair or overcast because he had a less than adequate experience in this memory. Both remember the same event, but both have very different perceptions of what the weather was like that day. An infinite amount of tiny or large difference can be made from any single memory given the recollection from two separate individuals. This is where the distinction between the photograph and memory takes place. Whereas the image of the memory is reliant on the subconscious of the person who remembers; the image of a photograph will remain constant. The photograph knows nothing of the individual or event that is taking place. The photographs record only the temporal events because it has no subconscious. It records the true reality of an event.
According to Kracauer on page 426 he states, "In a photograph a person's history is buried as if under a layer of snow".
ReplyDeleteThis quote from the article "Photography" caught my attention because I believe it to be true. A picture can mean a thousand words but it doesn't necessarily mean a thousand true words. A photograph is a still image captured at that instant. A persons history is basically irrelevant or hidden. For example, I think about a photograph of my grandmother when we we were at Disneyland. It's a great picture that captured her good spirits but the photo doesn't reveal her past struggles with cancer.
According to Kracauer, "Memory does not pay much attention to dates; it skips years or stretches temporal distance...Memories are retained because of their significance for that person."
ReplyDeleteWhen I think back about a certain person, I remember all the times we have together in glimpses over a period of time. Its different than a picture and the best way to describe it would be a very fast slideshow with emotions included. There are certain people that have impacted me in such a positive way that even though there might be some bad memories, I tend to only remember positive ones. Funny how that works. With someone I don't like, it is hard to think of positive memories, even if there are a select few, because the bad overtakes the good. They say to live in the moment, but I find myself thinking of memories all the time. Because memories do span a distance of time, I feel it is important to stay a balanced and consistent person, so that people will always have good thoughts about you.
"Once the grandmother's costume has lost its relationship to the present it will no longer be funny, but peculiar like a submarine octopus."
ReplyDelete- Siegfried Kracauer's “Photography" p 435
I found Kracauer's quote on the time sensitive nature of photography meaningful for it reminded me of the questions I raised upon viewing a historical photograph of a woman during the Qajar reign. The photo displayed a scene of a young veiled woman standing in front of an intricately adorned building, perhaps a mosque, while wearing a mini-skirt. I thought the scene peculiar and in particular the seemingly at odds attire. Was this a common way to dress during the time? I did not know, but my line of thinking follows the observation Kracauer had noted years before. That of the limitations of photography at preserving personal memories.
In Kracauer's example, initial reactions of a photograph, not unlike my own, brings forth laughter. However, over time the very same photograph is viewed under a different lens, a more detached lens, and the reaction changes. The scene is now odd and that is because the context brought by familiarity vanishes. There is no longer an explanation which humanises the subject or ties the photograph to a history or a context. Rather the photo stands upon its own merits, an internal explanation.
Nice work, Obeyd, exploring perspective and subjectivity.
DeleteStiegfried Kracauer stated on page 431 of “Photography” that “Like the photo- graphic image, the playing of an old hit song or the reading of letters written long ago also conjures up anew a disintegrated unity.” This quote brings together many forms of retaining memories, which humans use and cherish. However the irony is that these memories are in the past, they are in fact disintegrated from us so the significance of the photo, song or letter is in the hands of the beholder. Many find that by enveloping ourselves in these forms of what was once unity, solace is found. This is something that is quite unique to our species as no other species is able to capture a moment in time whether it be by song, picture or letter and save this precious gem for future generations.
ReplyDeletePage 425 "Since what is significant is not reducible to either merely spatial or merely temporal terms, memory are at odds with photographic representation."
ReplyDeleteI started this post by defining a few terms. Temporal is defined as relating to worldly as opposed to spiritual or relating to time. At odds is defined as in conflict. Spatial is defined as relating to space.
This quote stood out to me because I disagree with author. Though what is significant cannot be reduced by space, time, or worldly relation, the author made clear previously that significant in this phrase was referring to memories. This is true.
Where I disagree is the statement that photographs and memories are in conflict with one another. I remember the day while I was a teenager my little brother was born. I remember the hospital room where my sister and i fed him. But it wasn't until I saw a picture that i remembered what we were wearing, or how I had done my hair that morning. The photograph strengthened my memories. It made me remember more than I previously had remembered. The photograph brought more significance and emotion to an already emotional memory. Instead of saying the two are at odds, I would prefer the author said they are complimentary. Where one fails or leaves holes the other fills in.
Forgive my spelling. My first post disappeared in cyberspace, along with m patience leaving me to write this one through watery eyes.
DeleteNo forgiveness necessary. Nice work, Cari.
DeleteSiegfried Kracauser states, "Once a photograph ages, the immediate reference to the original is no longer possible (429)."
ReplyDeleteThis quote is powerful because as a photograph ages; it is difficult to remember in depth of the scene captured. As time passes, there is less memory images that can be told to a third person. We humans forget or change the true meaning of a photograph. Therefore, the reference no longer exist.
"The last memory-image outlasts time because it is unforgettable; the photograph, which refers to nor encompasses such a memory-image, must be essentially associated with the moment in time at which it came into existence". (Krakauer. 428)
ReplyDeleteThis quote caught my attention because the author made me think of photography in a different perspective. Krakauer differentiates the meaning of memories and pictures. A memory becomes unforgettable because it encloses truth while photographs, on the other hand, present an image at a spatial continuum. It does not capture any meaning or truth. It was interesting to me to read this entry because I learned into depth how pictures can be deceiving of the truth that lies behind it. A photograph can be our reference guide to the library of memories that we captivate each and every day. It resembles an artificial stamp in our life that we can easily relate as to what we were feeling at that specific moment of time.
ReplyDelete"No matter which scenes a person remembers, they all mean something that is relevant to him/her without his/her necessarily knowing what they mean." Kracauer, 425
This quote is meaningful because sometimes people don't pay attention to the things that are in front of us. It's only when we realize that they had a special meaning that we acknowledge those scenes. For example, we might visit a place and have a good time there, but it is only when we remember how happy It made us that we appreciate it. Of course this can be vice versa between good and bad memories.
On page 429, Seigfried Kracauser states, "The old photograph has been emptied of the life whose physical presence overlay its merely spatial configuration." This quote is powerful because it reestablishes the importance of a person's memories. Without a underlining story, photographs are just constructed images. Photographs shows the physical, but the memory shows the heart. Therefore, when a person's memory dies, the life of the photo dies as well.
ReplyDelete“If it is only the photograph that endows these details with duration, it is not at all they who outlast mere time, but, rather, it is time that makes images of itself out of them.” (Kracauer. 424)
ReplyDeleteThis quote caught my attention because Kracauer expresses a different view of photography with the concept of time. A photo can mean nothing to someone because they cannot significantly interpret of what is going on behind the photo. The “time” or process of the photo is what makes a photo substantial. For instance, when I was looking through old photos in my mom’s photo album, I would remember all the good times and bad times that I had with my cousins. Going back in time with a photo is what makes a photo special. That is why this quote is meaningful to me.
"The essence of film is, to a certain extent, the essence of time." (Krakauer, 429)
ReplyDeleteThis quote really caught my attention because I feel like it really captures the meaning of photography. We take pictures on "special occasions" or at times when we think we want a memory of the place, an event, or a trip. Those thing seem very important at the moment, but this may not hold true in the future and this quote is great at explaining this: which is that what we think is important in the present will at one point be seen as the past and may not be important anymore.
"The last memory-image outlasts time because it is unforgettable; the photograph, which neither refers to nor encompasses such a memory-image, must be essentially associated with the moment in time at which it came into existence."
ReplyDeleteKracauer 428
The way Kracauer describes photography is beautiful. In the quote above he describes photography as a way to remember moments throughout life. Today a lot of people take pictures of anything and everything for social media without giving it much thought. I think people need to remember how meaningful photography can be. One picture can bring back tons of memories and in the quote above Kracauer begins to explain this. He shows the reader how unforgettable memories can be and how photography can aid someone in remembering.
In Siegfried Kracauer’s “Photography,” he quotes, “It is only the very old traditional dress, a dress that has lost all contact with the present, that can attain the beauty of a ruin” (430). This excerpt is meaningful because it illustrates how people begin to devalue items, such as photographs, over time. For example, the old image gets removed from the photo frame so that an up-to-date snapshot can take its place. This old image is then put into a storage container or album, and isn’t paid attention to for years. During this elapsed time, the significance and understanding of the previous picture gradually diminishes, because the mind is now shadowed by more recent photographic memories. However, when the aged photograph is eventually viewed again, it holds a different beauty in it all together, even if its meaning has been forgotten. It encompasses a quality that cannot be found easily in current photography. I assume this may be the reason why antique and vintage art is pricey.
ReplyDelete"One must rid oneself of the delusion that it is the major events which have the most decisive influence on people. They are much more deeply and continuously influenced by the tiny catastrophes which make up daily life" (Kracauer 422).
ReplyDeleteI find this quote to be direct and accurate. Although the major events do impact ones life and the direction one may take, it is the day to day trials that strengthen our character and ultimately make us who we are. Personally, I have found this to be true. The daily challenges we overcome prepare us mentally and physiologically for the more complex, and thankfully less frequent, experiences of greater magnitude.
"The old photgraph has been emptied of the life whose physical presence overlay its merely spatial confirguration." (Kracauer 429)
ReplyDeleteThis quote caught my attention becasue a photograpgh marks thier territory at a time and place and it has been embolded to life. Its like writting an essay on a white blank piece of paper and the white paper a meaning. Same goes for this quote, you put a memory on a blank photograph that has been engraved. An old photograph doesnt dies from the presence time but offers a storyline.