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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.