It is all about perspective…literally
Architecture is after all very visual, despite all its technicality.
Instagram, the photo sharing and capturing platform has made architecture more accessible, to those who admire the work done to build the spaces we are surrounded by, when they are built. I grew up in an age where selfies was (and still is) something more liked on than any other content shared on this platform. This leaves me questioning my place as an architectural enthusiasts.
Is Architecture instagram worthy?
Now when I mention worthy - the definition I prescribed to this notion is the most admired and enjoyed content that appears online. It was looked down upon that we touch up selfie’s or images of ourselves, but with architecture not so much. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t edit architectural photographs, especially on instagram. So then, to make architecture worthy do we need to alter it?
Before I ventured on taking architecture photographs a little more seriously, to edit an image was to alter and change what you show to those viewing the image. At first this seems dishonest, wasn’t I just making it seem more worthy of admiration if I was making it look a certain way? No, to edit is to enhance the image, after all, you can’t bake a great cake without quality ingredients (well, you could but it won’t feel as good) so I guess it is the same with photographing architecture. I can’t make anything more interesting than it already is. It is the way we capture a space that tells a story that is our own. And it is how we choose to tell the story that makes architecture more interesting in pictures.
I can tell you as much as I want how beautiful a space is, but if I can’t capture it in a way that specifically depicts that, you won’t understand what I’m talking about. However, if I’m able to capture particular characteristics in a moment, you might admire it the same way we admire sunsets and sunrises. Oddly enough there is a universal admiration for certain things, that makes something stand out, and I guess what makes spaces more admirable is if they are captured well with the intention of explaining a moment in time. Bad photographs (a subjective thing of course) taken of a building or space that isn’t well lit or at an angle that is rather unappealing doesn’t define the space. But it sure makes it less worthy on instagram? I’m starting to see similarities with taking selfies, I mean which kind of photographs are more liked, the well composed images or the ones taken without much thought?
Ah but you see, again that depends on a lot more factors. Now we could go down this tunnel and we won’t arrive to a conclusion. So where am I heading with this? Architecture can be photographed well, some places are hard to capture if they aren’t photogenic as they are, but with all the tools that we have at our disposal it can be done, very well. To appeal to everyone, not just architecture lovers. But does it receive its recognition best on this platform? It can, as long as we take more consideration in the portrayal of a single moment within a space. That goes for the portraits too. In fact, that goes for any photograph regardless of its content.
What I’ve come to realise is that this has more to do with the photography, than architecture itself. We can admire a lot of things on instagram, but it’s worthiness to be captured and displayed solely on a digital platform is doing a disservice of what the experience of the building is like. It is fantastic that there are talented individuals (a lot of them) who are able to allow us to experience the spaces they capture at a single instance both digitally and in person. And if it isn’t beautifully captured, it’s the thought that counts?
If studying architecture has taught me something is that, you can capture beautiful things in a moment, and that our interactions define its visual appeal. If we judge the look of building, from the interior and its exterior far more than what this building is used for, then we are making things too simple. We can judge architecture for how it looks, because that is how we judge ourselves most of the time, from what we look like on the outside. And most of the time, it isn’t the best way to judge how worthy something is.
Photographs are a form of communication and to explain architecture it can, among other things, be a great way to express the characteristics of a space. Architecture can be admired through various visual avenues, not just through photographs but video, drawings - you name it! It’s worthiness comes from being more accessible and that is what instagram is doing - we don’t (especially if you can’t travel just yet) simply experience a space in person anymore, we can do it from the comfort of our phone screens.
Architecture is a language that has become more universally understood, through photography and with instagram and great photographers.
Architecture is a single moment - the moment you decide that a space is worth remembering because of how it made you feel, and I hope you find beauty in that because it is you that makes it worthy wherever it maybe.