What Will Become of the Body of Photography?

A lecture by Paul Frosh, Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Chair: Vera Knippschild, Folkwang University of the ArtsWhat if photography’s future means that core photographic practices will persist despite generative AI? In his lecture, Paul Frosh outlines three overlapping strands: first, corporeal photography, where gestures, routines, and embodied interaction shape social and political rituals; second, platform photography, where drones, satellites, and stationary systems extend vision beyond the human body for science, surveillance, and activism; and third, generative, body-detached image production, where AI translates photographic knowledge into prompts, producing photorealistic images that imitate rather than replace photography grounded in physical presence.Follow the discussion to explore questions of labor, value, and authorship, as well as the ethics and politics of proximity, control, and surveillance. What does photography become when bodies, machines, and algorithms intersect and how will these interactions shape the future of seeing? Join the conversation and leave a comment to speculate with Paul and us.This session was recorded on February 4, 2026, on the occasion of the 3rd Essen Symposium for Photography »What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate«, hosted by the Essen Center for Photography.Photo Credit: Essen Center for Photography / Silviu Guiman