Jordan Marks Introduction

Hi, my name is Jordan Marks and I am from Los Angeles, CA. I plan on transitioning into Gallatin next fall to study Computer Science and Visual Art. 

Something I have always enjoyed is taking photographs. Since the early years of my childhood, I remember being fascinated by the concept of photography, the very idea of solidifying time and space in a seemingly effortless process. The photographed image is undoubtedly one of the most ubiquitous forms of communication however it often means much more to people, for photography, most importantly, is a tool of memory retention; taking a photograph is having meaningful foresight, choosing a moment special and unique enough to solidify. Recently, I was recommended a book written by Roland Barthes called Camera Lucida, a collection of his essays on the nature and cultural place of photography. There is a moment in the book when Barthes describes seeing a famous photograph of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother for the first time. He is struck by the simple fact that the eyes in the photograph are the same eyes that once gazed upon the great French leader and it was this simple fact that coincided with my own realization about photography. Each captured image has its own life with its own respective pasts and futures and the sheer immensity of information stored in a single frame of a single worldly moment strikes me, as it struck Barthes, as one of the many mysterious beauties of life.