Final Project - How Technology Takes Away From Our Lives

Statement

The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the control that we allow technology to have upon our lives. We miss out on many things in our lives by allowing our phones to consume us. This is not to say technology isn't important, as it has many important uses in everyday life, however, I feel that we could scale back our usage of technology significantly while still receiving many of the same benefits. I hope this work inspires viewers to change their priorities and let our technology be secondary to the true experiences we can have without its presence. 

Paper

Digital Photography I Final Paper

Professor Aelavanthara

Ben Cegelski

5/7/2020

              The photographer I chose as an influence for my final project is Eric Pickersgill. Pickersgill and I made observations about the influence of technology over our lives, which is one of the reasons I was attracted by his work. One of his most popular projects, named “Removed,” examines the influence of our technology on our presence in social situations.

              Eric graduated with a Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Fine Art Photography from Columbia College in Chicago. He then began working on projects focusing on the psychological and social effects that cameras and their artifacts have on individuals and the societies they live in. One of Eric’s first published projects, called “House Sitters,” was based on telling the behind the scene stories of how the bank’s attempted to make homes appear occupied to avoid vandalism following foreclosures after the housing market crash in 2008. I find his desire to share stories that may not otherwise be told fascinating, as he is driven to make interesting imagery of a little known storyline.

Another of Eric’s projects, named “NoShow,” he went to locations of fake events that were posted on social media to photograph the people attending. Pickersgill was driven to show the societal problems that can result from depending upon social media as a source of information. The events were typically “scheduled” in poorer areas, often near discount stores. Interestingly, at times even the local news stations began reporting about the fake events. Eric’s goal was to show the problems with placing too much trust in social media, and how the platforms can be used as a newer method of deception.

Finally, Eric’s most recent project, “Removed,” photographed the disconnect between people caused by technology. Eric removed the phones from people’s hands but kept them in the same poses. I feel that it was very powerful imagery and that it shined a light on the distance that can be created by technology even when we are physically close together, which is one of the reasons I was inspired by this project. Eric’s work in “Removed” was inspired by a family he witnessed attached to their phones at a diner instead of interacting with one another. Two family members were consumed by their phones, while a third stared distantly out the window. The disconnect between people and nature is what I hope to capture in my own project, and I hope to inspire those who view it to be more present in where they are.

My mind first came across this idea when I was in a Wisconsin State Natural Area, where the views were rather stunning. Despite the beauty in front of my eyes, there were multiple people I witnessed staring down at their phones instead of being present in nature. Once I became aware of the distraction technology can be, I could hardly notice anything else when I am in public. I plan to use a few friends as models on their phones in natural scenes, either ignoring a beautiful scene or each other as they are distracted by their technology. I plan to travel to different parks in my area to attempt to create a diverse set of scenes with similar core issues at the center. I hope to increase awareness of the drain and disconnectedness that can be caused by technology and inspire viewers to be more present in their everyday lives.

References

Pickersgill, E. (n.d.). Eric Pickersgill Studio. Retrieved May 4, 2020, from https://www.ericpickersgill.com/#studio