by Sandro Pintus |
During the 20th century we've passed through three moments bound to the image: photography, television and now Internet. What are the differences you see in terms of communication?
Photography had an irreplaceablg function as testimony until the middle of the century, now television and Internet have created a debate over its function. Photography continues to be a testimony and through the eyes of the photographer becomes a thought-provoking investigation that leads to reflection. Even though it has its limits it has ineffaceable timeless characteristics. Nothing imparts detail and description like the photo.
Claudio Abbado conducts a rehearsal of the Berlin Philharmonic in St Petersburg, 1996 - a photo by Cesare Colombo on show at the exhibition "Un paese unico - Italia, photographs 1900-2000" in Florence (displayed from 4 September until 2 November 1997)
And how can Internet influence the photo in the future?
I think Internet has value as a proposal for seminating images. On the net, the images are digitalized; they are not the direct message of the photograph. The digital image is too manipulable in a negative sense. It's possible to replace one person with another and make believe that it's the original photo as in the case of the photo of Princess Diana's car crash spread over Internet. In that picture one can clearly see that it was counterfeit. But who can assure us that with sophisticated techniques they won't succeed in producing false photographs? An ethical problem presents itself where "testimony" is concerned.
How do you see the future of photography?
The confrontation of the photo with the moving image and the digital transformation will turn it more and more into a work of art. The traditional photo will be a work of art in the next century. Already now German gallery owners are searching for photos of the Fifties as collector's items and the photographers are in search of gallery owners.
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