|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography (Hill & Wang, 1981) Reissued by Noonday Press in paperback in 1982; translated from the French by Richard Howard. In the last book published before his death, the French intellectual trained his eye on photography, a practice that had increasingly attracted him over the years. Acknowledging himself to be less than an amateur photographer, Barthes approaches the topic from two vantage points: "that of the observed subject and that of the subject observing." In homage to Sartre's L'Imaginaire, Barthes marries his considerable knowledge of semiotics with the act of taking snapshots, but many of his deep thoughts require a familiarity with the Latin terminology of literary theory. Indeed, especially during the initial eight of the 48 observational sections that make up this short 119-page book, the lay reader may wonder more than once if the old philosopher has overthought his subject. Even fans of other Barthesian essays, such as 1957's Mythologies, may find Camera Lucida tedious in its obsessive meditation on a single theme. But once Barthes begins to describe his personal reactions to the 20-plus photographs reprinted in the book, his careful and organic musings elevate the work from technical and theoretical essay to a candid and classically Barthesian exploration of the particularities of life. MORE: Lengthy review of Camera Lucida Wikipedia entry on Barthes... ... and on Camera Lucida Academic paper on Camera Lucida PopCultures.com Index on Barthes Another Index of Barthes Links |
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||