AN ENGINEER / NOT A CAMERA

Ryan S. Jeffery

 

FILE SÃO PAULO 2026: Inter-creativity – Art and Technology – VIDEO ART SHORT
Electronic Language International Festival

 

An Engineer / Not a Camera – United States

The production of a computer chip is the most complex technical human achievement to date. Photolithography, a critical step in this process, relies directly on the older science of optics and photography, which are centuries old. Today, generative AI and computer-generated imagery are nearly indistinguishable from those made with a camera. Once a method for capturing an image of the world, the science of optics is now used to build machines that can make images of the world without seeing it.

BIO

Ryan S. Jeffery’s work with the moving image sits at the intersection between documentary, art, and media studies. Grounded in an analysis of aesthetics and politics, his work considers how technology, ideology, and political economy shape one another. His work has appeared in FIDMarseille, Transmediale, EMAF, and UNCCC, as well as The New York Times, e-flux, and Filmmaker Magazine.