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Photographs: Removed

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Re: Photographs: Removed

#41

Post by stormbrew »

swsieber wrote: post #36
dymk wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you think the same of an art project that removed, say, watches from people's wrists as they check the time? Or maybe hammers from the hands from people working in construction?

I think comparing the watch removal to the phone removal would really drive the point home - I don't think you see a lot of couples checking their watches at the same time. I think I get the point your making - a phone is a tool, and useful, like watches and hammers. But watches, hammers, and even books aren't designed to make you addicted to them. Lots of things on phones are. And lots of things on phones aren't...…

> and even books

If you've never gotten into a dopamine cycle with a good book (we usually just call this "a page turner" or "couldn't put it down") then I think that's kinda sad itself.

Books are definitely designed to make you addicted to them in a similar way that apps and games often are.

Re: Photographs: Removed

#42

Post by crazygringo »

As an artistic statement this just feels... infantile.

Before phones, people were reading books or magazines separately in bed, or reading newspapers on the train. When I traveled to various third-world countries before phones were a thing and people didn't have money for newspapers, people stared blankly out into space on the train or bus or shared van. People weren't social with strangers. In various modern African cities, I just couldn't believe how much boredom was part of everyday life. And there didn't seem to be any redeeming qualities to the boredom... just boring, boring boredom.

Likewise (back in the US), children out at a cafe with the parents would sit drawing or reading children's books or yes, being bored out of their skulls (instead of on a cell phone now with books or games that practice hand-eye coordination). I remember long car trips as a child as excruciatingly, horribly, mind-numbingly boring.

And as for photos showing someone photographing... we've had cameras for many decades... I don't get the point at all.

I'm not even remotely convinced that phones are somehow making us less social. Rather they save us from extreme boredom, keep us in close touch with out intimate friends all day long if we choose, and even make it so much easier to see people and flexibly change plans. Remember when being "stood up" was a thing? In my experience it's... not, anymore. Someone will send you a message an hour beforehand they won't be able to make it, saving you a trip and letting you make new plans if you want.

Re: Photographs: Removed

#43

Post by jake-low »

ars wrote: post #29

I wish they weren't black and white, but otherwise they are very interesting to look at. The black and white takes away a lot of the impact, it's too bad.

Worth noting that the use of black and white isn't just an Instagram-style filter being applied in Photoshop; the photographer is making these images on black and white film, using a large format camera that's not too different from the ones people were using to take portraits a hundred years ago. You can see a picture of the artist and his camera on this page [0].

[0]: https://www.ericpickersgill.com/about-eric-pickersgill-remov...

Re: Photographs: Removed

#45

Post by atq2119 »

jiggliemon wrote: post #38

By the title you’d assume these are candid shots of people in real life situations with the phones digitally removed. The actual method the photographer used was to stage situations, and acquire models to act out scenarios for maximum effect. I don’t know how the production of said images will effect the viewer - but I think it’s important to point out - as it does effect the content. This is staged art. This isn’t d…

It's affect, not effect, in this case: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/usage/affect-or-effect

(I'm sorry. My English is far from perfect either, I just really stumbled over this one for some reason.)

Re: Photographs: Removed

#46

Post by some_not_all »

32bitkid wrote: post #18

I get, and appreciate, where I feel the artist is going with this: a reflection on the loneliness epidemic and our relationship to technology. BUT I think one layer of meta out is just as creepy and weirdly out of context once you start erasing things. Namely the picture of the couple in bed is another level of creepy if there is some guy/girl hovering over them staring at them with a digitally-erased camera.

Congratulations, you've just confronted the suspension of disbelief regarding pornography, such that having a camera in the room somehow renders the act as "not prostitution" by virtue of performers (rather than johns and hookers) "putting on a show."

Re: Photographs: Removed

#48

Post by [deleted] »

crazygringo wrote: post #42

As an artistic statement this just feels... infantile. Before phones, people were reading books or magazines separately in bed, or reading newspapers on the train. When I traveled to various third-world countries before phones were a thing and people didn't have money for newspapers, people stared blankly out into space on the train or bus or shared van. People weren't social with strangers. In various modern African…

[deleted]

Re: Photographs: Removed

#49

Post by hopler »

crazygringo wrote: post #42

As an artistic statement this just feels... infantile. Before phones, people were reading books or magazines separately in bed, or reading newspapers on the train. When I traveled to various third-world countries before phones were a thing and people didn't have money for newspapers, people stared blankly out into space on the train or bus or shared van. People weren't social with strangers. In various modern African…

You seem to be projecting your own feelings onto the pictures.

Do you also find nude photographs infantile?

Re: Photographs: Removed

#50

Post by jancsika »

Intriguing.

Seems like the judgment of "depressing" or "creepy" one puts on these images comes from foreknowledge of what the subjects are reading on those phones.

For example-- is there a popular app that helps citizens effectively organize resistance against a burgeoning fascist government without giving side-channel access for nation-state influencers to easily undo that effort?

If the dad were posting on that and the kid viewing the thread, that would seem pretty cool and important.

But I don't think that app exists, which may be close to the fundamental problem than the hardware itself. In reality the overwhelming likelihood is that whatever the pair are reading is not as valuable as the quality time dad and son are missing out on.

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