Impossible Photography

I listened to a Ted Talk by Erik Johansson, at this link.  He discusses his desire to create photo-realistic images using photoshop.  He seems to be a modern incarnation of M.C. Echer, an artist famous for perspective drawings that were not possible in a three dimensional world.  

One thing he said struck me quite profoundly - his comment that he felt traditional photography was limited.  It is all about the setup.  For a photograph, you have to set up the right lighting conditions, the right scene, and have the right film in the right camera.  And so the photography process ended when you snapped the picture and created an indelible image.  With Photoshop, he was able to extend the creative process beyond taking the picture.  Technology allowed him to modify photography, allowing him freedoms previously reserved for painting and drawing.  

Overcoming a limitation is a great way to come up with innovative processes and products.  For instance, Google Docs allows collaborative editing of google-formatted presentations, documents, and spreadsheets.  They worked to overcome the barriers to collaborative editing by taking advantage of cloud computing and storage technology. 

If I look at another traditional media - sculpting - what can we come up with from there?  The ability to digitize and recreate sculptures at different locations?  A tracking glove or other device that allows you to sculpt in 3D using analog tools?  How about an installation where you combine the two and have a single piece of art that can be modified by others, where you can highlight its evolution over time?  

My first inclination is to put photography in its own category, because it has such a clear delineation between setup and post-processing.  I'm going to continue looking for other places where people move the immovable, or could if they wanted.