Investigations of Lens and Screen Arts Photo Obscura

This book discusses the transformation of post-photography into a significant movement that redefines photography by integrating it with emerging technologies and creative practices, resulting in works that may not even resemble photographs but still retain a photographic influence. 40 illus. As images become infinite and untethered from cameras, Natasha Chuk traces the evolving influence of photography in a world saturated with digital art. Photo Obscura brings a much-needed reflection on the radical transformations of photography in the digital age, where AI, computational media and hybrid art practices challenge traditional definitions of the photographic image. Moving beyond nostalgia for analog or the simple embrace of digital, Natasha Chuk positions post-photography as a movement reshaping our visual culture. It is a movement in which images may no longer look like photographs but remain deeply influenced by photography’s logic and history. Through discussions of key artworks and a range of artists, this book explores themes such as AI-generated imagery and the shifting line between representation and perception. Drawing on art history and media studies, Photo Obscura offers a fresh perspective on photography’s changing role in contemporary art and questions what it means to see and believe in an age of endless images. Natasha Chuk is a New York City-based media theorist, educator, and independent curator. She is the author of Vanishing Points: Articulations of Death, Fragmentation, and the Unexperienced Experience of Created Objects. Photo Obscura: The Photographic in Post-Photography discusses the profound transformation of post-photography. It argues post-photography is not merely a trend but a significant movement that redefines photography by integrating it with emerging technologies and creative practices, resulting in works that may not even resemble photographs but still retain a photographic influence. It is structured around various themes, including AI-generated images, the intersection of digital and physical art forms and the changing relationship between visual representation and perception. Drawing on photo history, media studies, visual studies, art history and the digital humanities and through discussions of specific artworks and artists, it provides insights into how post-photography continues to evolve, offering new ways to understand, define and engage with the photographic image in the digital age. It highlights the influence of digital culture, where the abundance of images and information has led to novel approaches in art that question the very nature of photography, truth and reality. Still, it maintains that despite this radical shift, photography's influence remains central, even when hidden or abstracted in the final work.