Aesthetics of the Technical: Thinking Photography with Simondon
Résumé
This paper proposes a new aesthetic approach to photography informed by Gilbert Simondon’s philosophy of technics and his techno-aesthetic thought. I begin by briefly examining the reasons behind Simondon’s absence from standard philosophies and theories of photography and present his notion of the image. I then turn to what could be described as an archaeology of Simondon’s discourse on photography, unearthing rather rare but nonetheless valuable references to photography scattered throughout his work. Finally, the last section offers an in-depth analysis of his techno-aesthetic reflections, focusing on Simondon’s original - at times provocative and certainly tradition-challenging - aesthetic ideas and their possible articulation within an aesthetics of photography understood as a technical object.