A giant painting by Eugène Delacroix being confined to a tablet – the current most popular way to view the masterpieces at the Louvre.
Paris-based photographer Danielle Voirin travels the world and documents her experiences in photographs. She takes street photography and photojournalism a shade beyond even art, to the level of mysticism. You may see more of her work on her website DanielleVoirin.com, or her alt website, DaniVoirin.com.
Simultaneously curious, funny and sad. So many of these masterpieces exist in art books, on postcards, on posters, online… I’m not sure I see the allure of taking one’s own photo of the art given the rudimentary controls on something like a tablet. I think I’d rather be directly awestruck, and carry that sense-memory with me instead…
You would find yourself in the minority at the Louvre during high season. In the throng of tourists, it feels like the electronic devices have replaced eyes. You go there in order to photograph, to capture those icons you’re supposed to see, and especially to show your friends and family you were there.
I can picture it. And I confess, when I was there in 1995 I took some photos of a few masterpieces myself with my crappy old point-and-shoot. But without the ease of Internet sharing and the pressure to show how fun one’s life is on social media, it was easy to keep my shutter-snapping to a minimum.
I get annoyed the same way at the bigger-name concerts on the rare occasion I attend: everyone with their phones in the air in front of the faces of the people behind them, recording the show despite the terrible sound and image quality they’ll end up with. *sigh* What happened to just getting lost in the music and dancing?
🙂