Abstract
The history of photobooks can be traced back to the nineteenth century when photography was invented, yet the concept of “photobook” and related discussions did not come under the scholarly spotlight until the late twentieth century. Drawing upon post-digital theory and revolving around the recently prevailing trend of highlighting photobooks among prestigious photographic events, this project seeks to address two research questions: (1) how the new media culture has impacted traditional media and integrated them into new forms of art production; and (2) how digital technology has altered the culture of contemporary photography in terms of the production process and the network of users. On a more specific basis, this project proceeds with a two-pronged strategy, namely theory formulation and field survey. The theory is formulated by investigating the photobook practice in the post-digital culture from three aspects, including cultural techniques, emerging genres, and the narrative turn. “Art Book Fairs” have been particularly in vogue since the dawn of the twenty-first century, which brings about pluralistic forms of creation (e.g. zines and artist’s books) that directly influence the contemporary photobook practice. The development of digital humanities also caused the narrative turn of contemporary photobooks. With regard to the field survey, this project not only focuses on the contemporary examples of photobook production in Taiwan, but also collects primary data by means of in-depth interviews, aiming to provide a discursive explanation aligned with the East Asian culture and local values for this social phenomenon.
Presenters
Yin Hua ChuAssistant Professor, Culture and Creative Industries Department, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
New Media, Technology and the Arts
KEYWORDS
Contemporary Photobook, Post-Digital, Post-Medium, Digital Turn, Art Book Fair
