Contrary to the traditional view of photography as the "art of fixing a shadow" for eternity, Albers argues that —the quality of being fleeting or short-lived—is actually a foundational condition of the medium.
: Early photographs in the 1830s and 1840s were notoriously unstable and would often fade into a uniform monochrome when exposed to the very light required to see them. The Night Albums: Visibility and the Ephemeral ...
: His Vanishing Photographs series was designed to darken and become illegible over the course of an exhibition, making their change part of the art. Contrary to the traditional view of photography as
: Even foundational works like Nicéphore Niépce’s View from the Window at Le Gras have largely disappeared in their original form, existing now mostly through enhanced reproductions that hide their true decay. Conclusion: Why Ephemerality Matters : Even foundational works like Nicéphore Niépce’s View
Albers uses several artistic examples to highlight how visibility is often conditional: