Abstract
This paper traces the aesthetic and conceptual entanglement of error and photography, arguing that disturbance is not an accidental side effect, but a constitutive feature of the photographic image. From the emergence of technical failure as a discursive category in early photographic journals to the systematic cataloguing of manufacturing defects in a former film factory in Wolfen, Germany, this study shows how visual and linguistic aspects of photography have shaped our understanding of disturbances that have both reinforced and challenged photographic norms since the 19th century. By highlighting the semantic shift of terms like “l’image parasite”, the metaphor of the “bug” as a glitch, and the appearance of actual insects as an index of contamination, the paper reveals an oscillation between chance and control, order and intrusion, defect and effect, as well as notions of etymological and entomological phenomena persistent throughout the history of photography. These disturbances, often dismissed as noise or artifacts, not only disrupt the visual field but also challenge the transparency, objectivity, and epistemic stability traditionally ascribed to the photographic medium. The paper advocates for a media-theoretical perspective that understands the error not as a deviation to be corrected, but as a generative form: a site where the image, in its materiality and temporality, reveals the entropic tendencies and technical conditions inherent in photography. These reflections resonate with my artistic practice, which examines the visual and conceptual potential of photographic disturbances – revealing that the error, in its purest form, is not the exception, but the rule.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Art, Photography, Materiality, Error, Disturbance, Failure, Insects, Language, Artistic Research
