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Work #812 · Late

Camera Lucida

Roland Barthes
1979-80 (Barthes died Mar 1980) · French
Phenomenological-autobiographical essay · Late-twentieth-century French phenomenology / semiotics

Barthes's 1980 phenomenology of photography — punctum, studium, and the mother's photograph

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Camera Lucida (Late)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Non-Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Bi-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Partial
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Single
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Experience
Observer · Theological Method —
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

⧖

Time

Camera Lucida

The "that-has-been" time of the photograph.

✦

Space

Camera Lucida

The framed space of the image.

◉

Matter

Camera Lucida

The photograph as material trace.

◎

Observer

Camera Lucida

The grieving phenomenologist.

⚡

Energy

Camera Lucida

Energies of the punctum.

⧉

Information

Camera Lucida

The photograph as ontological information.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Camera Lucida

Barthes's Camera Lucida: foundational for the modern theory of photography and the personal-essay tradition.