Why do humans care about pictures?
Asked by
alive (
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)
March 17th, 2009
Your gut reaction to this might be that we care about pictures because they preserve happy moments. But actually what I am interested in is more complex.
Why have humans for centuries used drawings, painting, and photographs to capture moments that otherwise would disappear into the past?
People used to commission painters to paint portraits of themselves, now we buy expensive cameras to take our own pictures. But why? Why are we so obsessed with taking pictures that we even have cameras on our phones? Is it because we are worried about being forgotten? or about forgetting about our loved ones? forgetting places we’ve been to? forgetting a night out with friends? forgetting baby’s firsts?
If yes, why do we care about forgetting, or being forgotten?
If not, what do you propose is the reason that people value preserved images (beyond what is ascetically pleasing, and artistic)?
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11 Answers
I was just looking at some old pictures and it brought back so many memories because of what I saw in the pictures, I don’t think I would have remembered it so vividly otherwise.
I think of it as the future’s documentation of the past. History in the making, if you will.
@miasmom so are you worried about forgetting?
@augustlan but why do we need to “make” history. that means that somethings will live on and others will be forgotten (based mostly on arbitrary preferences, or one day you had your camera on you and another day you didn’t) does that make sense?
pictures don’t only capture the moment, they capture what you are feeling at that exact moment.
and something we just want to always have something to look at and remember how happy we were at one point, or how horrible something was.
@alive It may not make sense, but it is totally true. Some people/things will be forgotten if no one ever documents them in some way. As to why I think it’s important for all these random people/things to be remembered in the first place, I have no idea!
It captures moments of your life so you will always have that KODAK MOMENT
@alive I wasn’t worried about forgetting, I just found it interesting that the photo triggered a more vivid memory.
For me, I am worried about forgetting. I have a terrible memory. I am documenting my sons life so I can remember it.
I have to agree with @augustlan I think it’s something humans are just inclined to do, to preserve history for future generations.
Memories are formed through both verbal and visual means. Vygotsky argued that all higher thought is verbal, but pictures help us to to access memories in ways that words alone cannot. McLuhan wrote that pictures and words are extensions of our own selves, and as we wish to preserve ourselves, we document our culture. And Barthes(book) believed that pictures not only depict a moment of reality, but possess a feeling about that moment as well.
@simpleD i see.. very interesting! Was McLuhan influenced/inspired at all by Derrida???
Maybe it’s to keep those cherished days and memories always intact, even when you may not be able to remember as you age, you can always look back and be reminded.
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