Fragmented Photos and Forced Viewing

This is Yet Another Maekan Briefing Intro (Thursdays’ Briefings are for subscribers).

I always appreciate the thought that artists and creators put into the presentation of their work. Whether it's a chef with good plating or a writer with a well type-set and laid out book, I love knowing that they thought about how I would engage with their creation.

One of the places that I was initially a curmudgeon about this, but have since come around, is with fragmented photos on Instagram. I'm talking about those half-cut photos where you have to half swipe over and hold your finger there so that you can see the whole image. (If you aren't familiar with these, here is an example from @photo.pace or check out the Series App on iOS.)

When I first started seeing these, I was pretty annoyed that my viewing experience required a half swipe and a hold, and that I had my fat fingers blocking part of the image. But then I was able to step back and check myself, realizing that the people who were doing this were controlling the experience of how their work was being viewed by forcing me to pause, swipe, and hold the image in the frame. 

This forced viewing wasn't a disruption, it was an invitation and a subversion of the typical one image per frame norm that we see on Instagram. Recognizing this quashed my grumpy attitude, helping me to see that this was, in fact, part of the viewing experience. It also caused me to step back and ask where else I may have written off an experience as frustrating, when it was actually a new (to me) form of meaningful friction.

Now when I see these fragmented photos, I get excited because there are two layers (or more) for me to engage with - both the photos themselves and the presentation. I feel silly that it took me this long to come around, but c’est la vie.