From within the midst of the Still Revolution in photography, we witness the transformation of the medium alongside the shifting social, political and cultural events of our times. In this era of instant information the image is stimulating sweeping, unprecedented change in the way we communicate.
In 1964 Marshall McLuhan wrote of the photograph as “The Brothel without Walls”. He referred to a theatrical work by Jean Genet, which depicted society as a brothel surrounded by a revolution. McLuhan described photographs as “dreams that money can buy” which could be “hugged and thumbed more easily than public prostitutes.” If we consider his metaphor within today’s global culture rife with media saturation, is the illusion images create now preferable to reality? Has the authority of the photograph been enhanced over time? Does it command our choices and grow stronger as the technology evolves? Or is photography losing its power to communicate ideas? Is its ability to convey meaning now diluted by the widespread dissemination of images?
CONTACT 2010 will consider the ways in which photography informs and transforms human behavior. The festival will recognize the influence of Marshall McLuhan, on the 30th anniversary year of his death. We will present images that examine connections between mass media, advertising, art and photography. This includes conceptual approaches to photography that utilize the codes of advertising, the language of consumerism, the stylization of marketing campaigns and the force of propaganda. Photojournalism and socially concerned documentary photography will provide a realist-based examination of the emotional and political impact of images and their effect on society and culture. CONTACT 2010 will explore the personal and social consequences of the medium of photography, in a society devoted to the image.
© Stuart Franklin / Magnum Photos China, 1989
