Introduction
In the first stage, I found key figures in the early photography of Greece and accumulated photographic representations of about seven distinct places such as the Parthenon and the Tower of the Winds. For example, Philippos Margaritis, a Greek photographer, is known for his work of the Acropolis, Parthenon, and Propylea from the early 1850 and 1860’s; his work can be found in the public Getty Museum collection. Another major figure in this field is Petros Moraites who had taken photos of the Temples of Zeus, Athena Nike, and Hephasitos in the 1860 and 1870’s.
Then, I reflected on the spaces themselves. Why do most of the early works exclude human life? Was it deliberate or coincidental? Has the visual culture of photography changed? The perspectives each photographer takes in their choices of background and layouts are different, and I wanted to capitalize on the differences by highlighting them in a side-by-side comparison. What do these photographers emphasize in their photos? What characteristics of classical monuments are captured? What is left out? How do those characteristics reflect classical antiquity?
After my personal exploration of the characteristics of the photos, I went to Greece to pursue a rephotography project. Rephotography is the process of placing yourself in the same place to document change and decay, with only time as the variable factor. This visual form of exposure and comparison of classical antiquity hasn’t been explored as thoroughly as other mediums like writing and art, but this new vision of classical places is crucial especially in the digital age.
To tie it all together, I uploaded the original photos, my photos, and my observations and literary representations on Scalar. Scalar is an online platform that highlights digital scholarship and was the best way to showcase my findings because it is visually comparative, digitally interactive, and easily accessible. Through this project I was able to explore my interests in classical antiquity and digital media, while maturing my analytical skills and making my findings available to the public to possibly spark any further discussion about this topic. My inspiration for this project stems from Professor Krieger’s project in the reconstruction of Paris, Mark Klett’s San Francisco project, the rephotographic projects at Macalester, and Philip Carabott and Yannis Hamilakis’s “Camera Graeca: Photographs, Narratives, Materialities.”
For the project, I would sincerely like to thank the generous donations from the Kallins family for the Kallins Hellenic Studies Summer Fellowship, and for allowing me the opportunity to independently and cohesively organize, go through, and analyze a project of my own conception. I also sincerely appreciate the efforts of the USC Classics Department, and in particular, Professor Herchenroeder and Professor Thalmann.
To easily navigate this book, you can either follow the order by clicking on the blue squares at the bottom of the pages, or by clicking on the table of contents button on the top left corner to get a quick overview of the whole project. You can also navigate this book through its various visualizations by clicking on the compass icon in the top left corner and selecting 'Visualizations.'
