Harris Fogel

Associate Professor, Photography
Chairman – Media Arts Department
The University of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA

Remastering the Past – Reconsidering Authenticity in Photography

Digital technology allows us to reconsider existing photographic images in much the same way as we can now revisit existing audio recordings, sometimes emerging with revelations that are both unexpected and enlightening. The same processes that allow this apply just as seamlessly to our own work and open the door to questions of authenticity, asking us; just what defines a genuine experience?

In my presentation I will explore a variety of projects over the past twenty years that have all had a strong research based component to them. I plan to begin by discussing the following photographic projects: “Toward Trinity,” an exploration into my nuclear past; “The Wonder Years,” a seven-year documentation of the empty sets of a popular American television show, starting with the influence of artist Robert Irwin as inspiration; and the recently digitally remastered color photographs from my “A Few American Cultures” project. That project, which was photographed on 8×10-inch color transparency film, utilized a wide variety of films, emulsions, and shooting conditions, and thus it was necessary to find a way to create a unified aesthetic for the body of work that extended to the use of color in addition to content. A residency at the UCross Foundation in UCross, Wyoming, allowed me the time to research color and create a standardized color space and signature to bring all the images into a similar emotional space in the final prints.

Finally, I would like to discuss ongoing research into the impact of photography on the American Presidency and political process, and recent experience involving the analysis and identification of photographs in relation to court rulings in the United States in regard to the prosecution of individuals involved in child pornography.

My work has always had a large research component to it. I work exhaustively on projects until they are finished, or until I’m wiped out and feel finished. For example, on my “Toward Trinity” project, I printed in excess of 3,500 prints before I stopped, and even then I have a large set of negatives ready to print, if only I could find the time. The same is true of my work scanning and remastering my color 8×10-inch transparencies, or other projects. So, for me, research is part and parcel to the experience. And what I’ve discovered is something I learned from Harry Callahan, that the greatest gift you can give yourself is the time to discover patterns in your work, your life, and your motivations. So, in showing work created over a significant period of time, I hope that I can reveal some of those motivations.

One of the classic reasons given for Freudian analysis is that in speaking your mind over and over again, the truths which you discover aren’t truths about specifics, about an particular event for example, but an understanding of patterns. Some patterns are quick to reveal themselves in our lives, while others take long to present themselves. For me, one of the things I’ve enjoyed about looking at work is the sense that the larger patterns are evident.

I’m also briefly going to comment on the state of digital photography, as well as my use of it to “remaster” my work with an 8×10 view camera. And I think that remastering is the proper term. In audio terms, mastering an album, or CD, is that process of taking the raw material on audio tape, and then mixing, and finally mastering a final version for release to the public. Remastering is to return to a previous version, to repeat the process using newer, and presumably better technology, and that is what I’ve done in my recent work, and what many folks are doing with their work as well. I do have concerns about focusing so much energy and time into the re-visitation of older bodies of work, yet I maintain the hope that in doing so, there arises the possibility of new revelations about the nature of how and why one engages in creative research.