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"une grande valeur de mise à feu des langages photographiques"

English translation: is still valid as a detonator of photographic language(s)

07:11 Feb 18, 2014
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Photography/Imaging (& Graphic Arts) / Philosophy/art criticism
French term or phrase: "une grande valeur de mise à feu des langages photographiques"
Bonjour,

This term comes from an essay by Arnaud Claass about the philosophy of time in photography. Here is the full paragraph, along with my provisional translation:

L'idée de pratiquer un langage du présent pur, dont Saint-Augustin tenta de poser l'hypothèse, est irréalisable, ce qui ne veut pas dire, une fois encore, qu'elle n'ait pas [une grande valeur de mise à feu des langages photographiques]. Pour y parvenir en photographie, il faudrait littéralement réduire à zéro tout délai résiduel entre le moment où l'événement est perçu et celui de la prise. Or au moment où une chose est perçue consciemment, elle est nécessairement déjà passée : il faut un certain temps, même mesuré en millièmes de seconde, pour que l’information reçue par les cellules ganglionnaires de la rétine soit véhiculée par transduction vers le cerveau et traitée par lui. Très concrètement, il en résulte que notre perception visuelle ne fait donc rien d’autre que remonter à chaque instant dans le passé.

The idea of using a pure language of the present, which Saint Augustine sought to hypothesize, is impracticable, which is not to deny its value as an instigator of photographic languages. To achieve such a thing in photography, it would be necessary to literally eliminate all residual delay between the moment when the event is perceived and that of its recording. Yet at the moment that an event is consciously perceived, it has necessarily already passed: a certain amount of time, even measured in thousandths of a second, is necessary for the information received by the retina’s ganglionic cells to be conveyed to and processed by the brain. In very concrete terms, the result is that our visual perception does nothing but turn back the clock with each instant.

I'm still trying to figure out what's going on semantically here...not sure that "instigator" is the best word.

Any thoughts?

--KA
Assef Katie (X)
United States
Local time: 06:35
English translation:is still valid as a detonator of photographic language(s)
Explanation:
I am not sure that the plural of language is necessary. The idea being that it is impossible to record the pure present. I think it is the idea that trying to record the pure preent - or purely to record the present - is still valid in what photography can represent.
Selected response from:

katsy
Local time: 15:35
Grading comment
Merci Katsy!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3is still valid as a detonator of photographic language(s)
katsy
3".. its significant role as a catalyst of photographic language."
Ann Drummond (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
is still valid as a detonator of photographic language(s)


Explanation:
I am not sure that the plural of language is necessary. The idea being that it is impossible to record the pure present. I think it is the idea that trying to record the pure preent - or purely to record the present - is still valid in what photography can represent.

katsy
Local time: 15:35
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Merci Katsy!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
".. its significant role as a catalyst of photographic language."


Explanation:
I think "instigator" is the correct sense, though as you suspected, maybe not the best term.
Hope this alternative either works, or gives you other ideas.

Ann Drummond (X)
Local time: 14:35
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
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