Is there a connection between photography and philosophy? I believe there is and that this connection will play an important role in our still young XXI century. How?
Pierre Poulain
Philosophy is a very ancient concept. In translation, it means “love of wisdom”. We all seek wisdom, even though we are not always aware of it. We all wonder or have at least once in our lives asked ourselves fundamental questions about the nature of the universe, the purpose of life… Even if we cannot find the answers, questioning itself is a philosophical act.
This means that philosophy is not something tied to history or culture. It is not something transient, but something deeply connected to human nature. Philosophy does not belong to the XXI century. It belongs to Man.
On the other hand, photography has a technical and cultural nature. Technical because it depends on the development of science and because we need a camera to capture it, and cameras change with the development of science. It is of cultural nature because the need to capture an image is historical, and further than what meets the eye, just like a photographer “sees” beyond the surface of an image. Both philosophy and photography serve as means to explore and embody the search for knowledge and understanding. While philosophy delves into the invisible aspects of reality, expanding consciousness, photography captures the visible world, revealing new perspectives and interpretations. In this way, they are both connected in their pursuit of truth and deeper meaning in life. of the non-philosopher, and when I say better, I don’t mean “more”, but “deeper”. He will see the golden ratio in geometric shapes and the harmony in the relationship between light and shadow.
When a philosopher starts using a camera, he is able to capture the divine proportion and beauty that only he saw in the depth of a scene or in a landscape, and present it to others. In other words, he embodies the invisible in the visible, which is precisely the definition of what an artist should be: art is a bridge between the invisible and the visible, or to repeat the definition given by Plato: the intelligible, the plane on which archetypes manifest, and the sensible, the plane on which we develop with our beliefs and emotions.
This relationship is two-way: it is not only that the philosopher “shows” something internal through the photograph, but the photograph itself, because it carries a higher meaning – far beyond mere description of “visual representation” – begins to act as a symbol, and when others see it, this symbol will resonate deep in the soul. Photography is a way to awaken the philosopher within. Not every photograph is a symbol, and not every image embodies invisible and timeless meaning. The twenty-first century is in a way the century of the image. Nowadays, one does not need to be a photographer to have a camera. After all, who doesn’t use a smartphone, iPhone, or tablet? With these modern devices, we can take shots, but are they truly “photographs”? Thanks to the widespread use of smart devices, owning and using a camera doesn’t necessarily mean that we can produce valuable shots. Most of the photographs in our surroundings do not hide anything beyond what our physical eye can see. It’s the realm of the visible. However, I don’t consider it a danger to photography. On the contrary, such a situation can compel a photographer to delve deeper in their search and make the presence of the invisible even more apparent in their photography. It’s possible that the 21st century will help photography stand out in today’s sea of images, and that is an opportunity. that photography serves as a trigger for awakening the inner philosopher.
Finally, French politician and writer Andre Malraux wrote at the end of the 20th century: “The 21st century will be spiritualized or it will not be.” If we observe spirituality through the meaning of that word – as it was understood in ancient Egypt through the concept of netera – philosophy as “the love of wisdom” can be understood as the first step towards spirituality, and photography, as a visual art, can serve as an introduction to that first step.