ASKO TAPANI LEHMUSKALLIO Pictorial Practices in a “Cam Era” Studying non-professional camera use ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the board of the School of Communication, Media and Theatre of the University of Tampere, for public discussion in the Auditorium Pinni B 1097 Kanslerinrinne 1, Tampere, on June 27th, 2012, at 12 o’clock. UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE ACADEMIC DISSERTATION University of Tampere School of Communication, Media and Theatre Finland Copyright ©2012 Tampere University Press and the author Distribution Tel. +358 40 190 9800 Bookshop TAJU Fax +358 3 3551 7685 P.O. Box 617 [email protected] 33014 University of Tampere www.uta.fi/taju Finland http://granum.uta.fi Cover design by Mikko Reinikka Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 1746 Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 1218 ISBN 978-951-44-8846-7 (print) ISBN 978-951-44-8847-4 (pdf) ISSN-L 1455-1616 ISSN 1456-954X ISSN 1455-1616 http://acta.uta.fi Tampereen Yliopistopaino Oy – Juvenes Print Tampere 2012 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "" # " $%&''% %(% ' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )* !"#$ % & & ' ()"*++"$!,"- ./ 0)$)+0"$!1)". ! 2", "##,34 !5)*#$!6*347 , 3""##*+" 7/ # ) '+,' %$'%%%-$$' %('./'0%(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 12 8& 8( &9 7: " #$ ;+$,$!:4 <$,$!+" !"$! *;*#$!16:= 8<,$!$2> ;+*) ,+;+$"$**#$! >: +"2$$,$!;" =' *1+,,$!$!*$!+#*+2"$*= # !% 8 & ( => & & '() * & # * .'%('.'+,' %$'%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!")) & /4 & 0 0 /' + ,'( 1$; $*+" *22) "$*/4 *2;*$*#; $*+" *22) "$* /./ +*62<;+ /.: " ! 8) $*"$+;+$"$**#; $)+)/.= +")" !",; $*+";+" $ /4. !0*"?)$)+0"0#" $0 /47 +*!6$*";!*$;!*$*,+";!3/7' * )*/7 &( & /7. - . + $ +1" 3@"#)--3 * ;$/:/ +A;+1" 3$+"$,/:: !3!"+;)6 3B/>/ " !+,!$$*6$"*"$*6 )/>7 +*1 *# $/>= < "$3"""##*+" ;!*$*C!"+,/=/ , $,$!", 3*#*;!*$*/=7 * )*/=> 8 8% & 88 /== . / && . &$ + ! "2+"; $)+;+*) /. !)*# "2+"; $)+/4 " "$**#**?. $+ $,,"- : *2,"0,**0*+?+ = * ),+2"+?' D % ' ( ( % 1+$,""3*;$ $$,4 ,$!3*;$ $$,#*+$+";;, > *$+) $,;+ ;$)"!#$ ./ . $ 0 1 ! !"+66+"$*+,"-"$* 44 ;*+$"$* "4: ?,+*) 7' " ( $$3 *++ $*7 "+,2"," $12 7 *2,"2",#*+2"2"$* 7. +, +$ 2 7> "1,"$,6$1)"*++ :' <;""$*#*+*A" $*: # $% "E * ;$E"+$#" $E"$ !5) :4 * ),+2"+?>/ # 3 /'&%((-'+,'4 %$'%4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)5* & ( >> 2 . ! " ! ("+"$*6$ *"*;,= )2* == ,## $'. ( ': 3 )/ & 4 )/ & #+"*+?/ )$*2"$**#* "" $* / ( /: ' ! " (% > '.'' '!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**1 7 4> 88 7' Acknowledgments Looking back to the beginning of my interest in pictorial practices in a “cam era,” I have come to realize that questions of images, cultural practices, and pictorial media have long been with me. Having lived in different countries and interacted with very different kinds of people, I have noticed similarities and differences in the ways people see and explain their lives in particular contexts. Of particular interest to me has been to focus on shared ways of doing, not only stressing specific differences – for example, looking at ways in which we seem to be using similar devices in similar ways, sharing a way of “doing” that is not necessarily bound to one specific locale. Taking a bus, using the metro, and driving a car are good examples. Although there are differences in how we perform these actions, there are important restrictions that constrain variation. With a special interest in pictorial media and their uses, I have come to notice patterned similarities in the use of cameras and in pictures taken with them. These observations contradict the idea, still commonplace, of a shared culture among people living close to each other that differentiates people living in one place from people living somewhere else. In order to understand these similarities between different people, possibly living far from each other, I have focused on the specific media that people have at their disposal, influencing the practices in which these people are involved. For one reason or another, the focus has remained on pictorial media in general and, quite often, on camera use in particular. The understanding I have gained has been gradual and owes a great deal to both academic literature and several people I have met, in various settings. Whereas the literature is to a great extent referenced at the end of this work, I wish to thank the people I have met, in both informal and more formal settings, for providing me with intellectual feedback and encouragement. I feel privileged for the kind of input and support I have received. After completing my M.A. studies in cultural anthropology in 2003 at the Philipps-Universität Marburg in Germany, I realized that I had started to understand a little of the thinking that others had developed on the relevant issues. But instead of having clear answers, I had a hunch of how to continue to address these questions. Through discussions, the supervisors of my M.A. work supported my continuing interest in images and pictorial media, so I enrolled at the university again, as a Ph.D. student. The initial research idea focused on participant observation with stakeholders who create images in public urban space, mainly advertising agencies and political activists, for gaining understanding of the similarities and differences in their approaches to use of images. For many reasons, this study was never realized in the form originally conceived, but in hindsight more important was the encouragement that I received to delve into research areas that were new to me, lying between established academic disciplines. In the time between 2003, when I completed my M.A. studies, and today, many things have happened that have left their mark on my thinking and on the issues that are of interest to me. In 2003, I received a three-year Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grant for enrolling in a graduate-studies program established by Hans Belting and his colleagues, called “Image. Body. Medium. An anthropological perspective,” at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, in the Department of Art History and Media Theory. This time was important for me as I strove to understand developments in Bildwissenschaft and broaden my views on the use of images. Here the directors, professors, postdoctoral scholars, and my fellow PhD students were important partners helping in suggesting related literature, clarifying arguments, and providing insights on a broad range of topics. Besides Hans Belting and Beat Wyss, I found that Jutta Held, Norbert Schneider, Ursula Frohne, Martin Schulz, Birgit Mersmann, Stefan Ditzen, Markus Buschhaus, and Margit Rosen were of special importance in supporting my work in my years at Karlsruhe. In 2005, during my last year at the graduate school, I moved to Finland and worked first as a researcher in residence at the Finnish Museum of Photography. The supportive atmosphere and our reading circle focusing on photographic theory were especially helpful for me. I want to thank Asko Mäkelä, Elina Heikka, Jukka Kukkonen, Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger, Anne Isomursu, Ossi Asikainen, Kati Lintonen, Kati Kivinen, and Elina Suoranta for providing thoughtful discussions and support. In late 2006, I started my current work as a researcher at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT, a joint multidisciplinary institute of the University of Helsinki and Aalto University. The research environment differs from the earlier venues of my work, as a rich environment including computer scientists, legal scholars, economists, and cognitive and social psychologists.