Animals, daguerreotypes and movement

The despair of fading and the emergence of ontology

Bibliographic Data

ID2391030
AuthorsDavid Lulka (Film Independent, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume19
Issue1
Pages35-58
Publication date2014-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Material Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-1835 • E-ISSN: 1460-3586
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1359183513508032
OpenAlexW2038984921
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited28

Animals are not well represented in daguerreotypes, yet their visage within them is quite informative. The inclusion of animals was inhibited by their penchant for movement, which confounded the capabilities of the daguerreotype. Nonetheless, people sought to incorporate animals into portraits, the result often being a smeared image of the being. Rather than viewing this outcome as a failure, the smeared images should be viewed as theoretically and philosophically insightful. On the one hand, the smears suggest the frailty of existence during an era in which disease and death were common, a condition that instigated the creation of lasting daguerreotypes. On the other hand, the smears indicate the transient character of life in all ages, a condition that points toward an altered conception of animal ontology. These social and ontological insights have ramifications for present-day relations

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Character (mathematics · Epistemology · Movement (music · Ontology · Portrait · Sociology · Animal and Plant Science Education · Geographies of human-animal interactions · History · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Philosophy