We are already seeing the admiration of things past, sentimentality, for things like early web design/graphics and the 4 bit and 8 bit video and computer graphics of the past, but have yet to really see any similar attachment to low quality photography. Why is there little or no sentimental aesthetic value to a pixellated photo (640x480 or lower)?
My guess would be that the turn over rate of the technology of digital cameras is so fast, that there is not enough time for a "generation" to experience one level of sophistication long enough to claim it as its own.
Generation Y has an attachment to Nintendo and Sega Genesis level graphics, as they were the realization of our dreams of owning an arcade quality gaming system in our home. Thus, Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog hold a dear place in our hearts. The older in the generation wax poetic about Atari or Commodore 2600, while the younger end hold the 8 bit era as dear as a "wubby" or first Winnie the Pooh doll.
The only way that I can see low quality images given sway is if there are enough people who have images saved from early cell phone/camera phones - which I seriously doubt.
As much of our existence becomes screen-based, the very low quality of a 1.3 megapixel camera is still enough to give a clear image on-screen. The lack of quality of early (and present) digital imagery does not come from a lack of pixels, but from insufficient quality in the lenses and other mechanical light capturing devices.
Although there may be a time when people think it is low res images that they reminisce about, it will actually only be for low quality optics and the memory of a simpler time when quality didn't matter (to the sentimentalizing individual).
On an adjacent note, I do think there will be a real sentimental attachment to pixellated video because of the long run that non-hd digital camcorders, webcams and Youtube have had (and are still having.)
You can see a similar trend from an audio perspective. It's pretty common to look back to a prior technology that creates lower quality but evokes nostalgia. There's still a market for vinyl records. A lot of modern bands still record analog when the industry standard is digital or their records are produced to sound like a warped cassette tape. I can imagine audio that sounds like it's being played on YouTube becoming attractive in the future.
ReplyDeleteive been to a few shows lately where the bands are releasing their "new" material on cassette tapes. maybe vinyl is getting too mainstream for the hipster bands
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