Read David Bate's essay The Memory of Photography" originally published in Photographies Vol 3 No 2 pp243-57.
This is a challenging essay, which introduces some complex theoretical ideas and influential thinkers. Read the text closely, noting Bate's key points in your learning log, and extending your research to points that he references which are of interest to you.
1. Bate cites Jaques Derrida (Archive Fever 1996) as noting "that an anxiety about memory always has an element of death or "destruction drive", "of loss" at work in it." (Bate 2010 p243). Bate is critical that digital archiving into programmes such as Lightroom deposits the images in storage but what do they become in relation to our memory?
One of the current issues surrounding this is the speed at which technology is changing and whether we will be able to access digitally stored photographs in the future. Taking Derrida's quote literally, I recall storing images of my children on CD when I first had a digital camera and the file became corrupted over time. These were memories which were irretrievable, and so there is a strong argument for printing images which will withstand the digital technology.
2. Bate recalls the work of Freud in The Mystic Writing Pad to understand what memory may be. Natural Memory - human recollection and Artificial Memory - technical devices invented to support inscription of memory. The function of the camera was to "retain the fleeting visual impressions...materializations of the power he possessed of recollection, his memory" (Freud 1925 cited by Bate 2010 p244)
However, Derrida questions whether in the digital age, this is more complex than 100 years ago.
3. Collective Memory
Le Goff suggested that cultures archived selected material for centuries. Collected material has changed from spoken word to written word, to photographs, monuments, and documents housed in museums, libraries and record offices to be studied under the academic discipline of history. Politics and folklore became confused, history such as the French Revolution was rewritten to include celebratory days and delete massacres from history with public approval at the time. Looking back we see what the archivers of the time wanted us to see. Le Goff believes that photography "revolutionizes memory; it multiplies it and democratized it, gives it a precision and a truth never before attained in visual memory, and makes it possible to preserve the memory of time and chronological evolution." (Bate 2010 p247)
This suggests to me that all photography is seen as being truthful, rather than considering why the image has been archived and what relevance it had to society at that time. Was it the represented view or the actual view? Watching Simon Schama "The face of Britain" Episode 1, BBC2 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15) he showed that throughout art history, the person who was in power had the choice of how they were represented. Taking Elizabeth 1, he revealed that the state had issued a decree on how she should be represented. Similar events were repeated throughout history until Yousuf Karch came to take the well known photograph of Churchill after Karch had removed the cigar from his mouth and the people of Britain (rather those in power) saw Churchill as he really was.
4. Le Goff uses Pierre Bourdieu's sociological work to explain that family albums are important because they show chronologically the important social memories which happened with the family or close network of friends.
Further points Le Goff makes around this are that the father is not always the family portrait maker, it could fall to the mother, and would the mother or father choose to record different memories? Or is this feminism's collective memory? In present times it could be the child who records the family memories. It may be an unorthodox collection.
The study of the family album is an interesting concept and whilst our culture is accepting of the changes over time, how would developing countries with different social cultures see this development? Would it be seen as futurespective and embrace it, or see it as repression?
Susan Sontag (1977 p9) suggests that "a family 's photograph album is generally about the extended family - and often , it is all that remains if it." This is because of the radical changes over time to the family unit creating a nuclear family. The album becomes a symbol of extended family life. This gives people a sense of belonging and shared memories.
5. Archives or databanks of images enables specific social groups to be represented. Oral history alongside photographs brings the images to life and links social groups to each other. We should aim to establish social remembrance through media, state photography and independent social groups.
My concern is that in the days of 24hour news channels and so many social media sites, who will be responsible for archiving what is remembered? Quality rather than quantity. Snapchat disappears from the screen although there is probably a trace of it somewhere.
6. Derrida (Bate 2010 p248) suggests we should ensure that archiving is responding to what has already been archived, questioning what is in the future and being responsible for the future.
7. Le Goff argues that a photograph is important because it can record other archived collections such as coins, crime scenes etc. traced back to the origins of photography.
8. Meta Archive
9. Prosthetic Memory
Michael Foucault looked at reprogramming memories. A photograph could be seen as a prosthetic device for remembering something, either because the person experienced the event in a different way or may not have experienced it. If the photograph showed the partial truth, or an edited version of the truth, and the actual experience differed from the memory, the photograph may bear only a little resemblance to the memory. Should we believe our own memory or the photograph?
10. Freud explains that people remember events differently - some through visual, some through gestures and actions and some through sounds. Children remember visually which is the basis of our memory making.
11. Mnemic traces
Freud refers to mnemic traces of memory as being two systems. In the unconscious state, memories are not made, however, in the preconscious, we can recall memory and move it into the conscious part of the brain. This means sometimes temporarily forgetting to make room for new memories. Freud calls these "screen memories" and applies it to childhood memories. Everyone does not recall the same type of memories, or memories from the same age. There is a period of "infantile amnesia" in which basic mundane memories such as potty training are forgotten. Events can be mis-remembered too, such as time, place etc.
These screens or childhood memory can be retro active, pushed ahead or dream like. One memory can be combined with another. Some memories become favourites and relived over again.
12. Barthes in Camera Obscura, described Puntum (Proust's involuntary memory) being the "involuntary response to a photograph" (Bates 2010 p254)and Studium (Proust's voluntary memory). The involuntary response makes us question our memory bank in search of answers. Looking at a photograph can help us recall memories, by interacting with artificial memories and re-aligning the link between the two.
Photographic images should be looked at in terms of analysis rather than acceptance because memory alters how they are seen. Social memory is affective; alters feelings, moods, attitudes so Bate suggests applying the screen theory to look for answers.
Looking through a collection of my family photographs, I found an image of my daughter of infant school age in our garden before we built the extension and altered the garden.
References
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p243
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p244
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p247
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw08607/Winston-Churchill
Susan Sontag (1977) On Photography, Penguin books, UK David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p248
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p254
Bibliography
David Bate The Memory of Photography Photographies Vol 3 No 2 p243-257
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06fv64s/face-of-britain-by-simon-schama-1-the-face-of-power accessed 19/10/15
http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw08607/Winston-Churchill
Susan Sontag (1977) On Photography, Penguin books, UK
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/magazine/memories-of-things-unseen.html?_r=0
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