DANI BOGENHAGEN | Punctum

Like a flash of inspiration, punctums descend. Viewers suddenly find themselves fixated on a photograph. Roland Barthes defines the punctum as that indefinable element that grabs the viewer, striking her unexpectedly in the heart. The punctum may be any number of things; a photograph without it provokes nothing more than mild, passing interest. In Camera Lucida, Barthes describes the punctum as marginal, incidental; the punctum cannot be the main subject of a photograph.

ERIC GREGORY POWELL | New I

It was during my first trip to Beijing in the fall of 2007 when this series started. Only two images from that journey remain. I was struck by the amount of new buildings and construction projects that enveloped the city in its pre-Olympics frenzy. But it all seemed just so fleeting. A new restaurant or shopping mall would open with fireworks and endless rows of flowers one day only to drown in litter and fall apart the next. I wanted to capture the feeling of progress that had always seemed to be collapsing on itself, again and again.

TABLE OF CONTENTS | Issue 6

Issue 06

Featuring

The 2009 Lucie Awards
Ara Guler
Fazal Sheikh
Reza
Tim Mantoani
Jeff Jacobson
James Knight-Smith
Andy Spyra
Achim Lippoth
and a tribute to the International Photography Awards