RE:A NEW DEBATE

Wotcher all,

I haven't commented for a while but here's my contribution to "the new
debate" and thanks for precipitating it Alexis ;-)

I think that the reason a lot of the debate on this list concerns the how
and not the what is because of the glorious variety of ways in which a
lensless image can be captured.

Although lens cameras can be very beautiful they are generally manufactured
items (with a few notable exceptions) and thus the creativity involved in
taking a picture commences at a different point than in pinhole/lensless
photography. The exquisite simplicity of a lensless camera loosens an
artist's creativity at an earlier stage in the process.

Another interesting way of looking at it is that using lensless technique
augments the building of the camera as a variable in the photographic
process. This is interesting particularly in relation to the old science/art
debate as here an artist is deliberately enhancing the exact thing that a
scientist attempts to control for: a variable. Thus, because of the almost
limitless ways in which a pinhole camera can be crafted precisely to enhance
this variable we tend to spend a lot of time discussing exactly that.

Personally, I'm very interested in both subject and idea AND the technical
innovations used to get there. However, I am a scientist and so my knowledge
base is more on the technical side but the reason I subscribe to this great
list is precisely because in order to improve my photo technique I thirst to
be informed by the more art based members through seeing and understanding
their work......I am never disappointed.

Tom

>I would like to open up a debate.
>
>feel it is time we discussed critically what we are doing. Not a
>criticism of individual works or persons but a debate on our aims, purposes
>and motivation. We hardly ever talk about why and what we are doing,
>almost always how.
>
>What is more important, style or content?
>
>Are you driven by developing the subject and idea or by the means of
>achieving this through technical innovations?
>
>Some of us are very interested in technique and some in content, obviously
>the two should work together one informing the other, but what do you
think?
>
>Alexis
>
Received on Sun Jan 13 20:47:55 2002