The Miracle of Analogy: or The History of Photography, Part 1

by Kaja Silverman

The Miracle of Analogy is the first of a two-volume reconceptualization of photography. It argues that photography originates in what is seen, rather than in the human eye or the camera lens, and that it is the world's primary way of revealing itself to us. Neither an index, representation, nor copy, as conventional studies would have it, the photographic image is an analogy. This principle obtains at every level of its being: a photograph analogizes its referent, the negative from which it is generated, every other print that is struck from that negative, and all of its digital "offspring." Photography is also unstoppably developmental, both at the level of the individual image and of medium. The photograph moves through time, in search of other "kin," some of which may be visual, but others of which may be literary, architectural, philosophical, or literary. Finally, photography develops with us, and in response to us. It assumes historically legible forms, but when we divest them of their saving power, as we always seem to do, it goes elsewhere. The present volume focuses on the nineteenth century and some of its contemporary progeny. It begins with the camera obscura, which morphed into chemical photography and lives on in digital form, and ends with Walter Benjamin. Key figures discussed along the way include Nicéphore Niépce, Louis Daguerre, William Fox-Talbot, Jeff Wall, and Joan Fontcuberta.

Genres: Photography, Philosophy, Art, History, Art History

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2015

Reviews

[Nathan Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find Silverman's borderline-theological/metaphysical thesis to be far more fascinating than her methodology. It's a typical art-historical way of doing things: a lil bit of Peirce here, some CAMERA LUCIDA there, a thesis drawn from a particular reading of Benjamin––followed by a long-winded historical close read of significant events and artistic maker-writers, selectively included due to their loose alignment with the general thesis at hand. Silverman's metaphysical thesis (that the world writes itself, reveals itself to us through photography––that photography is an ontological calling card of our interconnectedness, our intertwining, our collective Being) is striking, but it deserves to be explicitly questioned, problematized, argued, from more of a theoretical/philosophical register. Yes, a variety of writers-on-photography have loosely written from similar perspectives, but this isn't quite enough to justify and defend a startling (and, in my mind, undeniably appealing) premise. The claim is admirably big, but the argument isn't quite big enough to justify the bigness.

CAVEAT: This is a two-volume thing she's got going on here, and, as far as I know, Part 1 is all she's published so far. So...take this critique with a grain of salt.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sincerely hope the publisher made the mistake of publishing a draft.

[Guillermo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro, mezcla de historia de la protofotografía y las formas contemporáneas que buscan, siguiendo el hilo de la formación de las imágenes que conocemos desde la cámara oscura, la descripción de la foto como analogía: el mundo que se representa a sí mismo a través de la luz y el revelado constante.

[Chase Showen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know a lot of people gave it three or more stars, and I'm convinced its because it happened by mistake or they didn't truly read the book. No good.

[Josef Cutler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise (I loved the introduction) but I found myself wanting much more detail in the analysis.