Giphantie Photographic Society ManifestoThe name of this Society is derived from a eerily predicted in the mid-1700’s by la Roche in his work Giphantie. In this tale, it was possible to record images from nature on a canvas coated with a sticky substance. Unfortunately the author died before he could see his fiction become real. This Society signifies to a large extent the qualities of clearness and definition of the photographic image which is an important element in the work of members of this Society.The chief object of the Society is to present in frequent shows what it considers the best contemporary photography of the World; in addition to the showing of the work of its members, it will include images from other photographers who evidence tendencies in their work similar to that of the Society.Giphantie Photographic Society is not pretending to cover the entire of photography or to indicate through its selection of members any deprecating opinion of the photographers who are not included in its shows. There are great number of serious workers in photography whose style and technique does not relate to the metier of the Society.Giphantie Photographic Society limits its members and invitational names to those workers who are striving to define photography as an art form by simple and direct presentation through purely photographic methods. The Group will show no work at any time that does not conform to its standards of pure photography. Pure photography is defined as possessing no qualities of technique, composition or idea, derivative of any other art form. The production of the "Pictorialist," on the other hand, indicates a devotion to principles of art which are directly related to painting and the graphic arts.The members of Giphantie Photographic Society believe that photography, as an art form, must develop along lines defined by the actualities and limitations of the photographic medium, and must always remain independent of ideological conventions of art and aesthetics that are reminiscent of a period and culture antedating the growth of the medium itself.The Society will appreciate information regarding any serious work in photography that has escaped its attention, and is favorable towards establishing itself as a Forum of Modern Photography.
