Photography and Cinema

60

WilliamHenryFoxTalbotannouncedphotographytotheBritishin

The Pencil of Nature( 1844 – 6 ),apublicationcontaining 24 photographs.

Thetextlaidoutarangeofpossibleusesforthemedium:archival

classification,science,arthistory,forensics,reportageandlegaldocu-

ments.Allthesepotentialsimpliedassembliesratherthansingleimages,

andhispredictionwasbroadlycorrect.Photographyhasbeendeveloped

asamediumofmultiplicityandaccumulation.Moreover,Talbot’schosen

meansofannouncement,thepage,hasbeenthespacewherethatdevelop-

menthasmadeitselffeltmostsignificantly.

‘Tolookataphotographbeyondacertainperiodoftime’,suggested

theartistandwriterVictorBurgin,‘istobecomefrustrated:theimage

whichonfirstlookinggavepleasurebydegreesbecomesaveilbehind

whichwenowdesiretosee.’^1 Atfirstfull,fascinatingandassuring,asingle

photographmaysoonbecomedifficult,evenresistanttotheextendedgaze.

Hecontinued:‘itisnotanarbitraryfactthatphotographsaredeployedso

that,almostinvariably,anotherphotographisalwaysalreadyinposition

toreceivethedisplacedlook’.Westillencounterphotographsenmasse

andifthereissustainedinterestinasingleoneitisoftentheresultofbrief

encountersspreadovertime.Butwhyshouldthisbe?Istheresomething

inherentinthephotographicimagethatprecludesextendedlooking?Isit

thecoldnessofitsoptics?Doeslackofsurfacefailtoholdthegaze?Isitthe

photograph’sperceivedlimitationsoftimeandplace?Orisitamatterof

culturalhabit,thatforgenerationsthevisualculturetowhichphotography

gaverisehasbeenaconstantstreamoflargelydispensableimages?Did

cinema,televisionandadvertisingforecloseonthelonglookorwerethe

two

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