The Edwards (2001) reading highlights some really interesting ideas: on the importance of context, on the unique individuality and idiosyncrasy of everything, on the different dimensions behind/in front of each picture. Some quotes I want to highlight are:

  • “The close-up view… allows us to grasp what eludes the broader more comprehensive viewing” – there’s value in looking closer, looking finer grained, looking into that aforementioned uniqueness, individuality, idiosyncrasy

  • “Meanings come in and out of focus, double back on themselves, adhere silently” – the museum as an archive and as a space that exists within context inherently creates dynamic meaning from pictures

  • “There-then becomes here-now” – the idea of photos as denying history by bringing the past to the present and future while simultaneously inevitably carrying history and context within them

And I think the question of “what do we do with this information” aligns with a final quote: “what do pictures really want?” What are the performances and contexts that went into setting up the photo, creating the photo, displaying it, perceiving it; and with all of that, what is the role of the museum as archive of photos? A piece of the story and perforamnce of a photo? Simply a holding place for others to engage and interact (is this possible)?