Parallels Between Photography and New Media in Relation to Contemporary Art Forms

The main purpose of this chapter is to identify similarities between early developments in the history of Photography and later parallel developments in New Media art. There are certain distinctive features common to the development of Photography and New Media as art forms. Both media were initially enthusiastically embraced by the general population as a medium for popular use and enjoyment. But within the field of Fine Arts, Photography (and, more recently, of New Media) questions about authenticity and legitimacy were raised. In other words, art critics have doubted whether Photography could be regarded as a legitimate art discipline when it shares so many interfaces with other more utilitarian image-making means and processes. This same problem of course has also hindered the acceptance and development of New Media as art form given its relation to television, computers and the Internet.

Photography and New Media use mechanical and electronic means to convey an image. Both these disciplines have made a huge impact on contemporary communication and culture; they have impacted on art, science, law, politics and travel, and have created new conceptual models in all spheres of life. As Photography became increasingly accessible to the masses, the way in which people perceived the world changed radically. People began to see differently. Photography also opened up links to exotic and inaccessible places and events by producing images of people, places and things never before seen in verifiable form by much of the general population. In the same way, the digital revolution has radically changed our relation to the world by changing the way in which we communicate. The immediacy of New Media has facilitated globalization and translocality, and given people a new perception of the size and accessibility of the world as a whole. Furthermore, digitality has changed our understanding and perceptions of our bodies, space, the environment, and how we live and fit into... [continues]

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