‘Visual literacy has today become a real necessity’

As Malta joined in the global celebration of World Photography Day last week, DAVID ATTARD speaks with Lara Zammit about the Malta Photographic Society and its current exhibition at the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat.

The Malta Photographic Society is presently organising a collective photographic print exhibition as part of the events the society organises to celebrate World Photography Day.

The exhibition is taking place at the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat in which 52 distinct Malta-based photographers are exhibiting one of their best works. It has also become an annual feature in the society’s calendar of events.

From portraiture to street, to landscape and macro photography, this exhibition serves to highlight those moments in time of a tiny segment of the world as captured from a singular and possibly exclusive point of view. 

World Photography Day is celebrated annually on August 19 to commemorate the invention of the ‘Daguerreotype’, a photographic process developed by Louis Daguerre in 1837.  This process revolutionised the way images were captured and preserved, laying the basic foundations that led to modern photography.

This discovery was officially announced by the French government as a ‘gift to the world’ on August 19, 1839. It is for this reason that August 19 is the day chosen to celebrate World Photography Day.

However, the idea of a global day to celebrate photography was a rather recent initiative which dates back to the late 1980s. The first observance of World Photography Day happened in 1991, and this celebration began to trend in a significant way online since 2005.  

A powerful tool with its own set of challenges

“Photography has evolved tremendously since 1839,” explains David Attard from the Malta Photographic Society.

“Today, it has become a powerful medium of communication and artistic expression. How many of us have physically met our great-grandparents? Very few, I guess. However, we have ‘met’ our great-grandparents through the photographs we explored in our family albums.”

There is no denial that photography, as a visual medium, also plays a significant role in documenting and shaping major historical events, cultural changes, as well as personal and family stories, continues Attard.

“Through its ability to freeze and capture fleeting moments in time and to evoke emotions, photography is a powerful tool that shapes public consciousness, opinion and sways political interpretations.”

Attard commented on the advent of social media and mobile phones that incorporate cameras, which have turned everyone into photographers and creators of visual imagery.

“The ease with which photographs can be captured and published serves to preserve personal and intimate memories, while shaping collective identity. Just spend a few minutes on social media to discover what may be considered as a distorted view of our lives. We are today the selfie generation. However, recent advances made in artificial intelligence have also created challenges that have brought the ethical considerations surrounding image-making to the fore,” he said.

“The possibility of manipulating images with ease and to a very high level to the extent that it is very difficult to distinguish manipulated images is a challenge.

“Visual literacy has today become a necessity that needs to be taught in schools since photography and its manipulation plays a critical role in shaping individual and collective opinion and memory.”

Photographic fine art must go beyond

Photography is considered a relatively new medium. It is not one of the traditional seven forms of art but is included in the broader definition of the visual arts. 

“However,” says Attard, “photography does capture emotions, moments and perspectives that connect with viewers. Fine-art photography requires skill, creativity and a unique vision from the photographer.

“Such artist photographers are not merely skilled technicians. Like any painting or sculpture, a well-composed photograph can evoke powerful emotions. There has been wider recognition of photography as an art form among the local public in recent years.”

Attard noted the various photo-exhibitions held in such places as the Malta Postal Museum’s Arts Hub, the Malta Society of Arts, Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq and many others in recent years in the local sphere.

“However,” he said, “not all photography produced (even if technically perfect) falls under the fine-art category.  “For photography to considered as fine art, it must go beyond and be more than just a visual representation of something or somebody. Such photographs must go beyond being a ‘snap’ captured using a camera to immortalise a scene or a happening.

“Photographic fine art must have that special ability to communicate the fact that the photo or photo-series captured were deliberately curated by a photo-artist to convey an idea, concept, feeling or emotion.”

The exhibition, organised by the Malta Photographic Society, runs at the Wignacourt Museum, Rabat, till August 30.  It may be viewed from Monday to Sunday between 9.30am and 5pm, with last entrance at 4.15pm.