A review by kdburton
Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography by Roland Barthes

challenging reflective medium-paced

5.0

More than a philosophical exploration of the photograph, Barthes explores our relation to art, medium, and experience. I’m drawn to his conclusion that why one person is moved by a piece of art that another is not has to do with their subjective “punctum” (the thing that “pricks” or “wounds” them through the art) rather than any objective “studium” (that which we understand the intention of the art to be, through the craft of its creation within its medium). 

It is a great sadness to me that I will never know French enough to read Barthe’s original words. Thank goodness for good translations, though. 

— owned