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A photographic image reveals and reflects on many things: the subject, first and foremost, but also on the photographer and the viewer. Something that is often left unsaid, however, is that the photographic process is also reflective of the reality it is located in. Every photographer inevitably, whether intentionally or not, embed himself or herself in every single image that they make. The reality contained in the image is thus not solely that of the world, but also that of the photographer.
However, Bazin (1967) claims that unlike all other forms of art, solely photography "derives an advantage from [the photographer's] absence". This is, according to him, because photography's essence lies in the objective reproduction of the world. In contrast, Sontag (1982) states otherwise - she posits that "the camera's twin capacities [are] to subjectivize reality and to objectify it". While the two positions are seemingly in conflict, they can actually be reconciled.
What then, is the true essence of the reality that is reflected by a photograph? Bazin (1967) claims that it is objectivity because of the ability of the photograph in "[transferring] reality from the thing to its reproduction".
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Objectivity is what imparts on an image integrity because it allows the viewer to truly absorb subject's reality across temporal and spatial distance. While this is true, an objective temporal and spatial reality still allows for subjectivity - in terms of emotions and perspective. Also, reality can never be fully objective, because it differs for every single person. Sontag's (1982) position, then, is also true: the camera materializes reality translated through the subjective experience of the photographer. The reality reflected in a photo will thus always be both objective and subjective. It is not a carbon copy of life, but an imperfect and different one - much like the world reflected in a rippling pond.
The image is also a two-way mirror. The viewer cannot avoid imparting his or her own experiences on to the image - and the image will again be infused with another set of objective and subjective realities. The reality reflected by the image thus is not constant and will differ based on whoever views it.
As far as the argument that photography replicates reality, it falls under the concept of Aristotelian mimesis (Halliwell, 2002) which states that art imitates life. However, Aristotelian mimesis defines this imitation as something that transforms the everchanging nature of life into something perfect and eternal. This is similar to Barthes's (2000) definition of photography where he expresses an image as the compression of time into a singular moment - and preserved, unchanging forever. The part of reality that the image retains becomes different from the reality that was. Barthes (2002) warns that this imitation, however, can take over and override actual reality. Much like how Mirzoerff (1999) called photography a "past-tense medium", the gap between when the image was created and viewed creates a dissonance that separates 'perfect' reality into something that is distorted.
It can then be established that although photography stems from the attempt to represent reality perfectly, images reflect an imperfect reality imperfectly.
To understand the photographic desire of pursuing perfection, one must look at societal concerns at large. In every aspect of our lives it can be seen how perfection is placed as an expectation to be met: from education to the workforce. The competitive nature of the capitalistic society demands for individualistic excellence, where flaws are harshly critiqued and vilified.
Valera (2018) wrote about the contemporary model of perfection as being linked to humans' corporeal reality. The core of modern technologies lies "potential infinite development", and is through this the technological insurgence, including that of photographic technologies, that humans attempt to surpass their corporeal limits. This stems from the "human desire to acquire new capacities" and "expand the boundaries of human existence". (Bostrom, 2005) It is thus this instinct to overcome human corporeality that lies behind the unconscious photographic pursuit of replicating reality perfectly.
One can observe the desire for perfection in various features of photography. Firstly, the standard and common hallmarks of good photography remain rooted in technical perfection: for example, in the aspects of sharpness, focus and exposure. The attainment of these properties allows for a closer reproduction to reality, and in doing so, the 'better' the photo becomes. Secondly, as the world begin to obsess with details, the trend of photographic technology follows suit. The demand for higher quality and resolution is reflected in the direction of technological improvements in every reiteration of camera upgrade. Lastly, beyond the cultural obsession about technical and technological perfection, the rise of social media also created the phenomenon of users fixated on displaying a perfect life through the display of personal images. This is in part due to the vicious cycle the influx of these faux-perfect online personas creates: as viewers internalize these images as social reality, they too begin to imitate and chase after the picture-perfect lifestyle, resulting in a loop.
It can be asserted that the characteristic of this current digital era is perfection. Yet, as perfection now permeates all that we do, Rombes (2009) states that there is a "counterbalance" in the "tendency in digital media [...] to reassert imperfection, flaws, an aura of human mistakes".
One such phenomenon is that of the revival of analog in photography. There has been a surge in companies dedicated to the analog practice of photography being established. A well-known one is Lomographische AG: a company dedicated to the pursuit of Lomography, an analog photography movement that is characterized by a disregard of formal photographic techniques and equipment, stripping the art to a basic and spontaneous form (Wolfe, 2018). Lomographic cameras are constructed simply and are made mostly of plastic. The film images that are consequently produced, then, are often subjected to light leaks due to the shoddy construction of the camera - something that is now a trademark of Lomography, and these unpredictable flaws are part of what makes the movement appealing to its followers.
Unlike the common modern digital camera, a purely analog camera is completely manual and leaves the photographer in full control. The images produced through this method, then, can be said to be more human, and in turn, more flawed. In contrast, machines are precise and perfect - the automated photo-taking process is one largely dependent on machines, leaving only the shutter trigger to the photographer. One can even argue that because the analogous process is more human and thus imperfect, it is a better reproduction of reality and truth. Life is, after all, deeply imperfect.
As part of the analogous resurgence, Murray (2008) brings up the increasing fetishization of imperfect images: ones that are blurry, grainy and generally low in quality. On image sharing sites, imperfect analog images are growing increasingly popular. These photographers seek to reclaim "text and authenticity" from analog photography, which "they believed were inherent in old image technologies". It is a form of rebellion against the cold and unfeeling nature that dominates in digital technologies
The trend of "analog nostalgia" even carries into that of digital photography in the shape of digital imitation of analog. Schrey (2014) writes about the "aesthetic of virtual ruins", where decay and degradation of the image is championed. The materialization of time upon the analog image is reflected in its material and organic flaws. It is these flaws which are sought to be replicated digitally. The aesthetic of analog nostalgia tries to imitate this materiality unique to analog images: from the distinct hues of cross-processing to the graininess of film stocks - in an attempt to "digitally [simulate]· the life or 'soul' that the digital was always accused of lacking." (Schrey, 2014)
Ironically, while image imperfections created through analogous means are mostly cherished and glorified, those that are formed through digital methods are often viewed otherwise.
Film grain is loved and even emulated and added artificially, but digital noise is considered ugly and undesirable. Digital compression and digital artifacts such as those related to fringing and aliasing are also considered to be hugely negative outcomes. The dialectic of the disparity in treatment between the two types of flaws is culminated in the images of glitch art.
Glitch art is a form of art that is performed through corrupting, warping or destroying data to create a new piece of media. It is digital decay that is controlled: a purposeful, made piece of imperfect digital image. (Almond, 2009) It is destruction reimagined as creation; a combination of two ideas on the opposing ends of a spectrum. Much like how the modern generation harkens back to the nostalgic past with imitation of analog photography - through virtual means such as photo filters and added grain (Schrey, 2014), the intentional glitching of images follows a different path yet share the same essential ethos - that of pursuing imperfection. Glitch art is the anti-thesis to the idea that digital imperfections are undesirable - and proves that they, too, are beautiful. The digital world is just as much a part of human reality as the material world is.
"In the end, it is the mistakes, the errors that we assert in the face of the code that keeps it from consuming us with its purity. Mistakes must be our answer to the machines of perfection that we ourselves have built."
It is these imperfections pursued, regardless of whether they are analog or digital, that defines the human condition.
A photograph is in itself an imperfect transmutation and translation of human reality. In addition, human reality is in itself imperfect. The human desire for perfection originates from the imperfect human condition, and the will to correct it and impose control. To avoid the "feeling of chronic inadequacy" that is formed through this state of being, Descartes (2006) says that humans must be aware of the finite nature of life and their own corporeality.
According to Mirzoeff (1999), "all photographs are memento mori", and that they reflect the perpetual erosion of time. Images are thus a mediation on life's ephemerality and fundamentally echoes the mortality of human existence. The growing fetishization of imperfect images and the occurrence of digital analogization in photography is thus a societal reclamation and reembracing of the flawed human nature.
A concept that embodies the beauty of imperfection is the Japanese aesthetic ideal of wabi-sabi. This aesthetic embraces imperfection - and places it as the core of all harmonious living. (English, 2016) Diverting much from the Western ideals of beauty, wabi-sabi is an aesthetic ideal that does not seek completion and perfection. The opposite is true: what is flawed and incomplete is beautiful not simply just in their own rights, but rather precisely because of what they are. This applies not just in images but also all aspects of life. That which is broken is elegant and unique. Through wabi-sabi, by embracing the imperfections of an image, it escapes materiality and achieves something more transcendent. Much like how Berger states that "what [photos] show invokes what is not shown", the parts of an image that are missing provides meaning to the parts that are complete. It is human fallibility and transience of life that gives meaning to human reality.
Therefore, even though photography derives from the desire to eternalize life's fleeting moments, it is ultimately not important on whether it is able to do so accurately and perfectly. An image gains power and beauty from its imperfections - and through the photographer's act of seeking them.
Almond, R. (2009) "Exploring the Glitch," Fading Mnemonics and Digital Decay. University of Westminster.
Barthes, R. (2000). Excerpts from Camera Lucida. London, United Kingdom: Vintage Books.
Bazin, A. (1967). The Ontology of the Photographic Image. In A. Bazin, & H. Gray (Eds.), What Is Cinema (pp. 9-16). London, United Kingdom: University of California Press Ltd.
Berger, J. (2013). Understanding a Photograph. San Francisco, CA: Aperture.
Bostrom, N. (2005). A History of Transhumanist Thought. Journal of Evolution and Technology, 14 (1), 1-25.
Descartes, R. (2006). Meditation, Objections, and Replies. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
English, P. (2016). Imperfection: Embracing wabi-sabi. Liminalities, 12(4), 1-9.)
Mirzoeff, N. (1999). The Age of Photography. In N. Mirzoeff (Ed.), An Introduction to Visual Culture (pp. 65-90). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Murray, S. (2008). Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics. Journal of Visual Culture 2008 (7):147.
Rombes, N. (2009). Cinema in the digital age. London: Wallflower Press.
Schrey, D. (2014). Analogue nostalgia and the aesthetics of digital remediation. Media and nostalgia (27-38). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Sontag, S. (1982). On photography. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Stephen Halliwell (2002). The aesthetics of mimesis: ancient texts and modern problems. Princeton University Press
Valera, L. (2018). Against unattainable models. perfection, technology and society. Sociolog?a y Tecnociencia, 8(1), 1-16.
Wolfe, S. (2018) How a group of students turned an accidental discovery into an international film photography business that's thriving in the smartphone era. Business Insider.
ON THE IMPERFECTION OF IMAGES. (2021, Jun 13). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/on-the-imperfection-of-images-essay
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