Found Photography

Have you ever seen a photograph lying on the pavement as you walked past? If you have the print was probably damaged from the effects of weather, feet, and the grime that covers the streets. Did you want to pick it up and look closely at the image which was dropped by the owner?

I walked past a photograph that was left lying on the ground at least 10 times not too long ago. It was in the same spot every day for many weeks. When I first saw it appear along my route it was in good condition. The image on its surface showed a young baby boy with dark hair in a blue blanket. It was slightly over exposed but nice to look at none-the-less.

However I did not pick this print up off of the ground to which it had been banished. I left it and each time I walked past the print was in a worse condition. I thought about picking it up but didn't know what I would do with the image. I have no need to try and publish it. I didn't want to deal with the bacteria that would no doubt be growing among its fibers now that it had been lying in the street for so long. It is no longer where I found it. My chance to look upon a random photo in a familiar spot is now over.

Since that day I have come to learn of 'Found Photography'. A practice where the artist involved is more of a curator of images that others don't want anything to do with. There are practicioners, who we will look at later on as my research progresses, that have found photographs and exhibited them. In my first bit of researching this small field of photography I have come across 'Look at Me a Collection of Found Photos' on the web. (http://www.moderna.org/lookatme/) It is a collection of photographs that have been found in various places such as flea markets, and the street.

This is certainly not the only places that found photographs can be gathered from. There are the obvious, trash bin, notice boards and lost and found receptacles. However there are other places they could come from such as the web or in print of some sort. However in these last two areas you will run into copyright issues. In fact copyright issues could be raised with any photograph that is published or exhibited without the consent of the copyright owner.

The previously mentioned website, 'Look at Me a Collection of Found Photos', was started by Frederic Bonn and Zoe Deleu in 1998. The projected has been featured in a number of places including the Financial Times and Design Week Magazine (UK). We find on the website itself a comment about the photographs, 'hey can't help but be interesting, as stories with only an introduction.' I would fully agree with this statement. People we don't know in settings we are unfamiliar with have a mystery about them. The unknown stories we find looking at them carry few visual clues which makes it that much more of a treasure. Looking at the collection of photographs on line it is easy to see that they are a step back in time; a look back at the history that has happened without the obvious stain of politics or economics splashed across them.

It is unfortunate I was unfamiliar with the project when I ignored the photograph that was on the ground. I could  have submitted it to this online collection of nameless  images. Perhaps the owner of the photograph found it themselves. Probably not. It was most likely picked up and thrown into a bag of rubbish that now sits in a landfill rotting, returning to the earth from which its materials were originally obtained.