Memory Is No Object: Photography as Performance of Landscape

The performance of photography is not limited to the creation of artifacts for future reference. It also functions as an instantaneous reality check or proofing of the body relating to an image or landscape. For many visitors to areas designated as wilderness or art contexts, imaging is the prime experiential action, not simply documentation of some other experience. While thousands of photographs of a specific site like El Capitan or the Mona Lisa are readily available online, we are still compelled to make our own. With digital technology, it is increasingly common for an individual to make hundreds of photographs in a single day. The making of digital photographs is now essential to a personal sense of reality and experience; the act of photographing carries cultural significance in excess of any images produced in the process.