Topic-Prompt: ‘What use is the term “expanded photography” for thinking about (the possibilities of) contemporary photography?’
Expanded photography requires the photographical entering a
mutual relationship with other economies, including art, mass
media, architecture, science and law, while constantly shifting
society’s perception of itself through non-photographic
disciplines. Its vehicles of communication are curatorial
practices, education, media and publishing, but they concern
projects that are ‘implicitly’ rather than ‘explicitly’
photographic.(Cramerotti, 2011)
I agree with Cramerotti, photography as a media form transcends its established definition. In my opinion, it is essential to solve the problem that photography practice has become a medium of applications through technological advancement and cultural change. That Soutter said that photography is “being exhausted as a medium” (Soutter, 2016) It’s “regarded as a medium for transmission perhaps more frequently than as an art medium” (Soutter, 2016). Photography for me refers to history , experience and arts. Extending the idea of photography “make the photographic image itself an autonomous subject, independent of any function or relationship”. Expanded photography reflects the relationship between the virtual space of the photographic image and the living space in which it is located.
In class, Brian showed us a few mins of ‘Last Year When the Train Passed By’ (2018) by Huang Pang-Chuan.“What were you doing last year, when I took this photo from a train passing by your house?” Carrying a picture taken in the train a year ago, the director revisits places he had photographed, asking the subjects what they were doing then.It combines photography and non-fiction film which is emotional and makes me think about the change of time and spaces. Feel different to meet strangers, talk to them and know their stories.
In class we don’t have time to do the exercise so we were asked to upload it on a blog post. The exercise we need to do for this week is to make a cinemagraph which I think is quite similar to I did some cinematography practice before. I chose a place nearby to create some cinematic architecture. I stopped by there for about two hours to get the good light and shadow and finally I got what I wanted. I went back home and edited it in Photoshop. I want it to look like a suspense movie so I reduce brightness and increase contrast. I got more information and knowledge from the videos that Brian shared with us in google drive. At the same time, this aroused my interest that encouraged me to do more practice.
References
Soutter, L., 2016. Expanded Photography: Persistence of the Photographic. PhotoResearcher, 25, pp.34-63.
Cramerotti, A., 2011. The Truth Of Experience. Notes Of Expanded Photography. [online] Digicult | Digital Art, Design and Culture. Available at: <http://digicult.it/digimag/issue-066/the-truth-of-experience-notes-of-expanded-photography/> (Accessed 27 November 2020)
‘Last Year When the Train Passed By’,2018, directed by Huang Pang-Chuan, MUBI,[online], Available at: <https://mubi.com/films/last-year-when-the-train-passed-by> (Accessed 26th November 2020).