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| "Purma Special" Attributed to Raymond Loewy
(American (born France) Paris 1893–1986 Monte Carlo) |
There was a time when photography was almost universally
prohibited in museums. Of course, in those days, the hauling about of
equipment, and the large flash units would be annoying to other visitors.
Why are people doing this, and what is it doing to their
museum experience. Certainly, many want to record the time when they finally
come face to face with that iconic work that they only knew from pictures in
the art texts. Others may want to make a collection of references for their own
use. And some want to simply record part of their vacation, posing the family
in front of Whistler's Mother they way they would pose with Goofy and Pluto at
Disney World.
But there seem to be others who are obsessed with recording
most, if not every item they look at. During one visit to the Phillips
Collection in Washington D.C., a man wandered with an Ipad making a catalog of
every item that was on view. And a woman was having great difficulty dealing
with the reflection on a Berenice Abbott photo while she tried to photograph
the photograph. What was the goal? I am sure there was a museum book/catalog
that would have the images (professionally photographed under good conditions),
and you could buy a postcard of the Abbott photo in the gift shop.
While visiting the Musee d'Orsay in Paris (home of some of
the most famous impressionist paintings), groups of tourists moved from one to
the next, photographing each. Were these mementos adding to their experience?
Were they now removing themselves from their encounter with art, keeping it
"at camera's length"? Is the visit not real until it is recorded? And
will these digital images, like the millions of color vacation photos taken
over the years, simply exist, unlooked at, not in shoeboxes, but in some computing
cloud limbo?
In a Sunday New York Times Article
Sept. 29, "Hey Starry Night, Say 'Cheese' " , art critic Deborah
Solomon discusses the phenomenon of picture taking, which has only grown with
the availability of smartphone cameras. She feels that overall this will be
good for "visual literacy", and enhance, not diminish our
relationship with art. If only I could feel so sure of that.
Photo:
"Purma Special" Attributed to Raymond Loewy (American (born France) Paris 1893–1986 Monte Carlo)
Manufacturer: Purma Camera, Ltd., England 1937
Metropolitan Museum of Art, John C. Waddell Collection, Gift of John C. Waddell, 2000
