The photograph is literally an emanation of the referent. From a real body, which was there, proceed radiations which ultimately touch me, who am here; the duration of the transmission is insignificant; the photograph of the missing being, as Sontag says, will touch me like the delayed rays of a star.
Roland Barthes
but does the duration change which referent is there?
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Hmm. I suppose a photograph could decay over a long period of time, and the referent could become more difficult to discern. Does that mean it’s changed? Maybe or maybe not. I suppose in any case, the viewer’s perception of the referent can change, and also its signifiers. For example, the blue blur at the top of this photograph is actually someone’s arm, but it doesn’t really look like an arm anymore. I still see it as an “arm,” but someone else may see it as a “wisp of blue light,” or something to that effect. Good question! Ha-ha!
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Also your new banner is a great documentation of history
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Thanks. 🙂
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