On Scale: Ontological Variations in Photography

Santos, Miguel

Publication

On Scale: Ontological Variations in Photography

2022-06Conference object

dc.contributor.author	Santos, Miguel
dc.date.accessioned	2023-10-20T08:41:54Z
dc.date.available	2023-10-20T08:41:54Z
dc.date.issued	2022-06
dc.description.abstract	The concept of scale refers to complex phenomena that vary within space, time, or other dimensions in the real world. Scale underlines the connection between a representation and its referent while using finite and discrete measurements to render infinite narratives and meanings. The concept of scale can be as familiar as undefined, having a vari- ety of meanings depending on its operational context and disciplinary perspective. (Wells, 2013) In the specific context of lens-based arts, i.e., photography, the various approaches and implications of scale remain largely unanswered. The photograph of a landscape or a bacterium is unlikely to be material- ized in their real scale, its size would be, either, too big or too small for standardized observation. Scale anthropomorphises size, compressing physical and cultural geographies to pocket size, bringing distant percep- tions to arm’s length. As a concept, scale places humans at the centre of their own discourses while reinforcing human-centred taxonomies. None- theless, scalar variations are ontological to the photographic medium (Crowther, 2009), and have significant implications in the formation of individual narratives and political discourses, which are often made invisible or ignored. (Grau, 2003; Klein, 2004) This presentation attempts to uncover some of its problematics and its overall impact in the interpretation and formation of the work of art. Its primary focus is on photography while considering other artistic practices in a nondisciplinary convergent approach to scalar variations of size. References Crowther, P. (2009), Phenomenology of the Visual Arts (even the frame), Stanford, CA; Stanford University Press. Grau, O. (2003), Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion, Cambridge, MA: London: MIT Press. Klein, N. (2004), The Vatican to Vegas: A History of Special Effects, New York; London: The New Press. Mandelbrot, B. (1982), The Fractal Geometry of Nature, San Francisco, CA ; W.H.Freeman & Co. Wells, R. (2013), Scale in Contemporary Sculpture: Enlargement, Miniatu- rization, and the Life-Size, Farnham; Burlington: Ashgate.	pt_PT
dc.description.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion	pt_PT
dc.identifier.citation	On Scale: Ontological Variations in Photography, in João Cordeiro e Magda Cordas (Eds), MULTIMODUS-22: 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOUND AND IMAGE IN ART & DESIGN, 2022, pp70-71	pt_PT
dc.identifier.isbn	978-989-8806-49-9
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/8858
dc.language.iso	eng	pt_PT
dc.peerreviewed	yes	pt_PT
dc.publisher	Politecnico Portalegre	pt_PT
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	pt_PT
dc.subject	Photography	pt_PT
dc.subject	Scale	pt_PT
dc.subject	Digital media	pt_PT
dc.title	On Scale: Ontological Variations in Photography	pt_PT
dc.type	conference object
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.conferencePlace	Portalegre	pt_PT
oaire.citation.endPage	71	pt_PT
oaire.citation.startPage	70	pt_PT
person.familyName	Santos
person.givenName	Miguel
person.identifier.ciencia-id	D31E-E2DB-40D9
person.identifier.orcid	0000-0003-0641-5234
rcaap.rights	openAccess	pt_PT
rcaap.type	conferenceObject	pt_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication	53ba2f73-f0ca-415d-896f-7de1c6ead031
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