ABSTRACT
One of the first things people learn about art is that they are not to touch it; that to do so would damage the piece or might leave a fingerprint. Even though they are tactile as well as visual when exploring something, particularly as young children, the untouchability of art, as a rule, may well be the very first conscious association many people have with it. Glossy photographs are annoyingly susceptible to fingerprints and smudges. Even the makers will handle them with soft white cotton gloves. Large photographs can easily become damaged with half-moon creases, unless correctly handled. The photograph itself becomes an original, unlikely to be reproducible with the same exactitude as a second exposure of the negative. The piece can now also be considered as being interdisciplinary. Photography is no longer the sole process responsible for its creation.
