Instant Photos

摘要

For some, Polaroid is a nostalgia-tinged household word. For others, the once famous name-synonymous with the instant print photographic process-will be thoroughly unfamiliar, evincing the dramatic rise and eclipse of analog photography with the triumph of digital imaging. Mining the Polaroid archives in the Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, Buse (The Cinema of Alex de la Iglesia) researches how Polaroid cameras were marketed, the aesthetics of the Polaroid print, and the social rituals associated with owning and taking instant images. Other books detail the life of Polaroid's founder Edwin H. Land and examine the company's distinctive milieu; this scholarly cultural history is distinguished by Buse's background in performance studies. The author is less interested in studying pictures than he is in thinking about the performative moment of taking and sharing instant photos, an aspect unique to Polaroid-until digital photography came into existence-an innovation that led to Polaroid's demise but was also facilitated by instant film. VERDICT For readers interested in photography history, the cultural history of technology, innovation, and b history.