The chosen reading:
In Defense of the Poor Image (Steyerl, 2012, pp. 31–45)
The style to mimic:
Exercises in Style (Queneau, 1998, pp. 9–16, 19–26)
Apply that Style to Your Chosen Text:
Steyerl contends that poor images capture a modern reality, reflecting social, cultural, and economic difficulties in addition to technology conditions. They are a sign of the inconsistencies in digital capitalism as well as a critique of the hierarchies of traditional media.
Narrative
The poor image, a deteriorated ghost of its former self, spreads widely. It violates the elite rules of resolution and is frequently misspelled, compressed, and blurred. Throughout its journey, hierarchies are broken down, allowing access to rare and forgotten works. Blurred but alive, what was once locked away in movie vaults is now available online.
Children’s Story
Once upon a time, there was a picture that everyone wanted to see. But it lived in a big, locked castle called “Archive.” One day, it escaped through a tiny crack in the wall and became a poor image. Despite being smaller and blurrier, it made friends all over the world, sharing stories that even the big castle couldn’t.
Poetic
A ghost of an image,
A preview, a thumbnail, an errant idea,
An itinerant image distributed for free.
Uploaded, downloaded, shared, reformatted, and reedited.
Resurrected.
Dialogue
“So, what’s a poor image?”
“It’s like…… a JPEG file with low resolution that you can’t tell if it’s a face or a ghost.”
“Sounds useless.”
“No, it’s revolutionary! It allows everyone to access art”
“Even if it’s ugly?”
“Ugliness is not the point.”
Argumentative (Pro and Con)
Pro: Poor images democratize art, making it more accessible to a global audience. They challenge the monopoly of museums and archives, ensuring that culture is not limited to privileged spaces.
Con: Quality degradation threatens to erode works’ artistic integrity. Poor images may misrepresent the original creator’s intent, turning nuanced art into disposable content.
Bibliography
Queneau, R. (1998) Exercises in Style. London: John Calder, pp. 9–16, 19–26.
Steyerl, H. (2012) ‘In Defense of the Poor Image’. The Wretched of the Screen. Berlin: Sternberg Press, pp. 31–45.