Photography - The Snapshot

I love this quote, "Any American who takes a snapshot contributes to a compelling and influential genre." Have you ever thought of that fact when you were snapping a picture? It's pretty amazing to think that as an individual living in a world of so many individuals, when we are busy capturing moments in our lives through picture taking, in our own unique way we are contributing to a genre!

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, from October 7, 2007 through December 31, 2007, hosted an exhibit titled
"The Art of the American Snapshot - 1888 - 1978" From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson. "This exhibition examines the evolution of the most common form of American Photography, and shows that among the countless snapshots taken by Americans amateurs, some works, through intention or accident, continue to resonate long after their intimate context and original meaning have been lost."

I have included the link below which gives a brief description of each section of this exhibit.

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/snapshot/index.shtm

I found this summary of the exhibit to be extremely interesting. It discusses how the "snapshot" taken by amateurs as a means of documenting their personal history had a huge impact on American life and art. Photography dramatically changed the way we represented ourselves, as well as the way we wanted to be remembered.

Cameras were rather inexpensive and thus became a common everyday household item and thus a new glimpse into American life evolved! This exhibit covered snapshot photography up to 1978, but certainly the culture of photography has progressed leaps and bounds since 1978!! Today, cameras are not only in a majority of the households in the United States, but often several members of a family own a camera, and even more mind boggling is that fact that perhaps may may own more than one because often cellular phones are also equipped with digital cameras. The technology of digital photography as well as the internet has eased the manner in which pictures can be shared. Within seconds of an event happening, we can share that moment with a loved one by sending an email with an attachment or a MMS text on our phones. Websites can be created for families or organizations to share photos with each other. The possibilities seem endless. Certainly, as with all technology, they are positives and negatives.

A perfect example of a "negative" effect regarding digital cameras on phones brings to light the story of Michael Phelps.


I will explore more in my next post some of the positive aspects of "the snapshot" and American culture.