After the first lecture, I was quite interested to find out more about the history of photography in other countries or cultural contexts. I feel that it’s important to remember that the study of history is always a survey of various historIES.
The paper can be found above.
What struck me the most was how the development of photography was greatly compromised by the on standing biases the local community had towards the new technology. It is a great pity as the study of optics was already rather developed in China and the nascent forms of photography in China used chemicals and materials that were local. However, the resistance towards the technology meant that the papers various forerunners wrote were only published much later, decades after the photographic technology was brought in from the West. This greatly limited the scholarship and research surrounding photography at that time.
What surprised me, however, was that the artist’s self-portraits were usually the first image rather than landscapes of objects.
I guess that just reinforces how the experimentations surrounding photography was rather private and socially exclusive. Interestingly, the poses echo how the poses in the West are like– possibly it was driven by the pragmatics of staying still for the long exposures.
I really feel that this text is worth a read! And I am very happy to find out that the discovery/invention of photography sprouted in more than just the Western cultural context.
Dear Shu-Ying,
Thank you for these terrific and timely observations. Lets all read the paper!!
Best wishes,
Meridel