Why do people insist on taking pictures of art? What exactly is the purpose of taking pictures of something that will always exist in its current form, unchanged? Do you need proof to show others that you indeed saw that picture in person? Are you afraid that the current situation is the only time you’ll ever be able to witness that particular work of art? Do you not realize that there are plenty of high resolution pictures of the Mona Lisa online that are of far greater quality than the shitty picture you’re more than likely taking?
Your terrible, badly-lit, out-of-focus shots won’t be better than all the professional images that exist out there, accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
I can only guess that people taking pictures of art are fueled by that same subtle narcissism that requires people to collect selfies with every famous person they come into contact with. Sure, these photos could exist to serve as reminders of a particular situation to be reminisced over at some later date, but I have a feeling they’re taken more often than not to elicit attention from a social circle.
Hey everybody. Look at this picture of that painting that I took. I was in this location, and you weren’t. I got to “meet” that guy from Big Bang Theory and you didn’t. Shower me with attention and validation for being in a location that you weren’t at. Give me points on social media for being somewhere at the right time with a camera that takes pictures.
I also wonder just how many people who record video at concerts ever actually rewatch that footage. They certainly aren’t all uploading it to the internet so that everybody can enjoy it. Of the 30 kids holding up their phones at that show, maybe two of them actually upload the video to Youtube. At one show, I legitimately had a girl in front of me holding her phone up, recording another hand holding a phone, because she wasn’t paying attention to what she was recording. What a dummy. Thanks for obscuring my view and taking away from my experience so that you could record unusable footage, you little tard-fest.
In conclusion, people who need to take pictures of everything and record everything with their phones are usually pointless cattle. Not always, but usually.