As I pondered posting these vernacular photographs of a 1958 circus sideshow I found last week, I was struck by their being physical objects first, images second. I am sure the entire world has gotten over this matter long ago and my even admitting to bring it up is anachronistic. However, I own these, they occupy space in my files and as they are exposed to light and dust, fingers and moisture they will age, curl and change in aesthetic and physical ways. I am interested in the physical properties of photos, the wrinkles, the spots, the foxing, the tear. Surface is just as important to a photographic object as is the image. It might be my folk art background, where authentic age, signs of use and patina is a serious precursor to value and an indicator of authenticity...why shouldn't the camera arts be the same? Invited comments. In my world, "pristine" should apply only to the magic bullet commission exhibit 399.
4 original sideshow images, circa 1958 (cropped) Collection Jim Linderman
I see you're grappling with a lot of the same issues I have with my collection. They are valuable to me on a variety of levels which might not prove to be of value to anyone else. Some are pristine, some badly damaged. I put equal value in both though I know the latter would have little monetary value. I'm drawn to them because of the image and because of their physical history. It's intertwined. All ephemera touches me this way. I have a paper doll that is damaged, but it's at least 152 years old and part of the "value" to me is thinking about how it has passed through time.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how long my collection will last when I'm gone and how digitizing images changes them. What I own, have found and placed value on, may still end up in a trash heap and then all that will exist will be the digitized images. Will the image itself have any value when the original is gone? The scratches and folds are there in the scans, but the tactile isn't. Will prints that people have made off of Flickr posts have any long range value? And when I say value I'm not necessarily meaning monetary. The digital images spread from one computer to the next and ultimately they might be their salvation. Even if my original is gone, the image itself may live on. But because of digital manipulation will people see any value in the image if they can't touch the original, the only way to test the validity of the image.
But then I have a basket of rocks I've found over the years that are more beautiful to me than jewels because I think of how old they are and how eventually they will be tossed aside by someone else who sees no value in them. Stupid basket of rocks will outlive everything I own. But now I blather.
And by the way, LOVE the circus shots!
Not blather at ALL. Exactly the comment I hoped for, and I'm hoping for a dozen more. The issues of value, scarcity, condition, authenticity, meaning, "shelflife" and more have been neglected in our rush to digitize, and I appreciate your comments very much. Some folks buy polaroids because they are disappearing and might have value, but kids who they are being saved for don't even know (or care) what they are. How this all effects one's hobby, business, culture and appreciation for the arts is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteSnakes Alive!
ReplyDeleteWon't the real question be "what is ephemera?" when today we have people collecting digital photos from the net of people they don't know and posting them with comments. They started out as digital files, never were 3 dimensional, and now have spun through the net into the hands of others who will never know the people. There is no 3 dimensional object and the file may simply morph into something else like the old game of telephone. Will future generations attach any emotion to these images like we attach to the little scraps of paper we keep in our filing cabinet? I think of this all the time because I worry about how people will interact with books in the future. Kindle is fine, but it's cold and sterile and turning it on in ten years and finding a novel you read won't be the same thing as picking up a worn book that has creases on the cover and perhaps a bookmark stuck inside. Ephemera has changed forever.
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