At its inception, photography was a slow and technical effort. Making an image required attention to physical, chemical, and mechanical processes that unfolded on various timescales. This seminar will explore the modes of attention that go into producing a photograph, and will discuss their relation to the kinds of attention produced by the photograph itself.
We will do so by exploring the spaces between conception, capture, and final image. Participants will make photos using basic photographic techniques such as paper negatives, pinhole cameras, and analog chemical processing.
By slowing down the now-automated capture of the medium, we will seek to rediscover the diverse attentional experiences that go into making an impression of ourselves and our surroundings.
All the while, we will think about the relation of these technical processes to meaning-making. Photographs attempt to trap a moment in the amber of silver halide crystals. Our society's preoccupation with photos is analogous to our obsession with the concept of time. What do we see when we look back?
Led by NY-based photographer G. Giraldo.