Week 9

In the reading by Geoffrey Batchen, he states: “photographs are pictorial transformations of a three-dimensional world, pictures that depend for their legibility on a historically specific set of visual conventions” (2009: 210).

What do you think of this statement? What are the “historically specific set of visual conventions” which you employ or utilize when viewing a ‘photograph’, as apposed to ‘digital imagery’?

The historical set of visual conventions are our reflection or understanding of the signs and signifiers that attach themselves to images. What we know from our history of previous and current popular culture trends, gives us an understanding or a visual conception of a photograph intended meaning. There for pictures depend on their legibility on historically specific things or sets of conventions.

This connection is what ultimately gives certain artists success with their work. If people can't connect to or have any cultural understanding of their work, it is not likely that their work will pick up. Ultimately is the world around us that influences artists to photograph.