Reading Response #3

The article I chose to read was Stephen Joel Trachtenberg’s “The Art of Instant Gratification.” I chose to read this article because I am very much interested in photography. About 5 years ago, I got out my dad’s old Pentax camera he had when he was my age, and started putzing around with it. I became so intrigued with the ability to become one with the camera. In addition, my dad also taught me to develop my own film, adding another level of connectivity between me, the camera, and the final product. Since being introduced to that forgotten art form, I have realized the extreme impact the digital age has made on man, being good and bad at the same time.

This article goes into the history of the camera/photograph, from its early days as carrying biblical connotations, to becoming a two step process of shooting and then having the film processed, to Polaroids, and finally to digital cameras. Trachtenberg goes into talking about how the photograph was once “an item suitable for contemplation and remembrance” and how the overall effect of print photography has gone down in the public’s eye, as well as for photographic companies. The digital age as brought with it the ability to take pictures of anything and everything with the power to delete photos in a matter of seconds.

As for my own practices as a media artist, this article made me think more about snapping photos of anything and everything around me. It made me think again about the true beauty in the world, and much like I found on my sound walks, one must open their eyes to the true beauties of the world, not just acknowledging and taking notice of the surface.