Photomation

Photomaton Study Guide

Quiz

1. What is the significance of the movie Amelie in Barbara Buckles’ piece about photo booths?
2. According to Buckles, what was a key reason people used photo booths in the past, especially on dates?
3. Describe some of the common behaviors or “trips” people engaged in while using a photo booth, as mentioned by Buckles.
4. What is the title of the book about photo booths that Buckles references, and what does it contain?
5. How does Buckles incorporate photo booth pictures into her own artistic creations?
6. What does Fernando Marante’s “Photomaton” project aim to explore regarding old identification portraits?
7. How does Marante transform the traditional idea of a photomaton in his art installation?
8. According to Marante, what limitations do found ID portraits have in revealing information about the individuals depicted?
9. In what public space was Fernando Marante’s “Photomaton” exhibited in 2018?
10. Who invented the automatic photographic booth, and in what year, according to Marante?

Quiz Answer Key

1. The movie Amelie features an iconic Photomaton (photo booth) as part of its plot, inspiring Buckles and serving as the featured image for her piece. Amelie’s pursuit of a man who collects discarded photo booth portraits highlights the potential stories held within these images.
2. A key reason people used photo booths in the past, especially on casual dates, was that they rarely carried cameras. Photo booths in amusement parks or arcades offered a spontaneous way to capture a fun date or the beginning of a promising relationship.
3. Common behaviors in photo booths included inevitably ending up on someone’s lap due to the small stool, mugging for the camera (or where they thought it was), and trying out different looks in the mirrored glass before the unpredictable flash.
4. The book Buckles references is titled “Photo Booth…The Art of the Automatic Portrait.” It is described as a compendium of photo booth history, memorabilia, and creative uses of the medium, and it inspired Buckles’ own artistic endeavors.
5. Buckles incorporates photo booth pictures into her art by combining them with other ephemera, such as the covers of her grandmother’s old recipe booklets, creating collages and prompting her imagination to explore the stories behind the images.
6. Fernando Marante’s “Photomaton” project aims to explore what happens to old ID portraits when they lose their original context, questioning what these decontextualized images can still tell us about their subjects.
7. Marante transforms the traditional photomaton by creating a custom-built booth, replicating its size, to house and display archived photographs. This turns a functional device into a “miniature museum” for contemplation on memory and absence.
8. According to Marante, found ID portraits primarily offer physiognomies and clues about social, cultural, and financial status. However, these external indicators tell us very little about the actual core of the life and experiences of the people portrayed.
9. Fernando Marante’s “Photomaton” was exhibited in Lisbon’s Subway for several months in 2018.
10. According to Marante, the automatic photographic booth was invented in 1925 in the USA by Anatole Josepho.

Essay Format Questions

1. Analyze the role of memory and storytelling in Barbara Buckles’ “Photomaton” and Fernando Marante’s “Photomaton.” How do both artists engage with the past through the medium of photo booth imagery, albeit in different ways?
2. Discuss the cultural significance of the photo booth as presented in both excerpts. Consider its function as a tool for identity, documentation, and social interaction, as well as its potential for artistic inspiration.
3. Compare and contrast Barbara Buckles’ personal and nostalgic approach to photo booth images with Fernando Marante’s more conceptual exploration of found photographs. What are the strengths and limitations of each perspective?
4. Examine the relationship between public and private in the context of photo booths. How does the seemingly anonymous and automated nature of the photomaton intersect with personal memories, relationships, and artistic expression in the views of Buckles and Marante?
5. Consider the evolution of the photo booth from its historical function as an “automatic portrait” machine to its contemporary resurgence in social settings and artistic practices. How do the perspectives of Buckles and Marante contribute to our understanding of this evolution?

Glossary of Key Terms

• Photomaton: An automatic photographic booth that produces a strip of photographs, often used for identification purposes or as a novelty.
• Automatic Portrait: A photograph produced by a self-operating machine, like a photo booth, without the direct involvement of a photographer.
• Memorabilia: Objects associated with a particular person, event, or period, often kept as mementos.
• Collage: An artistic composition made of various materials (such as pieces of paper, cloth, or photographs) glued onto a surface.
• Archive: A collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people. In Marante’s context, it refers to found photographs.
• Context: The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text or an event. Marante highlights the loss of context in found ID portraits.
• Physiognomy: A person’s facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic origin. Marante notes that found portraits primarily offer this.
• Nostalgia: A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations, evident in Buckles’ writing.
• Conceptual Art: Art in which the idea presented by the artist is considered more important than the finished product. Marante’s work leans towards this, focusing on the idea of memory and absence.
• Ephemera: Items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity. Buckles uses various ephemera alongside her photo booth pictures.