Edges and Edginess

Early photo portraits were the talking-head phase of photography, where the creative edges of the medium hadn't yet been explored, and consequently all poses were symmetrical and centered. It didn't directly replace painting portraits, any more than talking-head news programs in the 50s replaced film. In some ways, early TV was more related to radio--a radio with a screen. A face for the voice.

Someone recently commented that they prefer visual content rather than talk radio or podcasts, and it could be the effect of one medium assisting another: YouTube video is an assisted podcast, even though the content is virtually the same.

Early photography was assisting painting. Early TV was assisting radio. Early Internet was assisting print (then TV). I would assume that VR and AR will assist the Net and is entering its own talking-head phase, with the equivalent of boring shots centered in view because we hadn't yet explored the edges (or edginess) of the medium.

After the scientists make a workable prototype, the artists start the exploration. The early attempts are clunky but get edgy and cool, even in retrospect, when nostalgia is also cool.