The Evolution of Landscape Photography: From Humanistic Framing to Posthuman Simulacra

Abstract

This paper explores the evolution of landscape photography from its humanistic origins in the Renaissance to its transformation under the influence of posthuman culture in the digital age. Initially an integral part of artistic and visual representation, landscape photography reflected humanity's epistemological approach to objectifying nature through the "window perspective." With the rise of postmodernism, poststructuralism, and posthumanism, traditional binaries such as authenticity versus falsity and nature versus artificiality have been deconstructed. Landscape photography now embraces simulacra and digital technology-driven expressions. This study examines how artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other technologies reshape the meaning of landscape photography, and it highlights the aesthetic and critical potential of contemporary works by artists such as Yao Lu and Yang Yongliang within the broader context of visual culture.