Michael A. Smith said:MAS: Our photographs are usually complex........we want the viewers eyes to involuntarily navigate the entire picture space.
TS: I think this would be something easily said of any image. Of course there are relationships between things. There have to be relationships...however one might wish to define that relationship through composition etc! 'everything being of equal importance'. In all images? That rule is unilaterally applied? It really means nothing at all. It is a non-statement. Sounds to me like taking snaps where there is simply no regard for actively dealing with relationships. Is this not what composition is? Or are you suggesting that you deliberately engineer your images so that there really is nothing in particular to look at? You must be trying to actively do something with relationships (proportionately, relative to one another) otherwise what is the relationship ? that simply given to you by nature?
MAS: I do make photographs where there are no figure/ground relationships. They are more often of a complex allover "field"--...the relationships are far more subtle than simple figure/ground relationships. You got it, nothing particular to look at--you must look at everything, not just the ostensible subject.
I am perfectly happy with the concept of a holistic subjectless image. However, without any component parts an image would be base white would it not. There are definable components to subject matter (I am not talking about a singular or multiple subjects) no matter how devoid of subjects the image may be. The subject matter may be a hill with lines relating to walls, field edges, tree lines etc. There is no subject as such, but there most certainly is subject matter. Presumably by rhythm you mean the relationships between the componnents of the subject matterm (but there are no subjects as such). This is not a new concept. Most of us are familiar with it. Images that lack bold subjects require more careful consideration of these subtle relationships up to the point where it becomes difficult to define the relationships and why they evoke such a response. I do not see this in your work. I have looked at it (on the web) for a long time and still I see nothing. In many cases I see very poor composition where (perhaps deliberately) you have not made the most of what was in front of you in an effort not to cause leanings within the image. In many images I feel that a lack of cropping has included elements that considerably degrade the image. I can only speculate that you wished to include them as part of the literal, holistic unassuming approach to the image. The notion that images where there is no specific subject, where the eye (as you put it), has "the right" to roam is new is again silly. I personally love what I would call indefinable abstracts.
MAS: I have referred to photographs as rhythmic events. ....eyes are impelled to look at everything in the photograph,
TS: Again, this actually means nothing other than the viewers eye wanders about with no reason to settle upon anything. Sounds like you are trying to sell the already well trodden concept behind the 'Boring Postcards'.
MAS: "Postcards"? Postcards are always about "things."
Have you seen the 'boring postcards' images? Many are no more about things than your images are about things. I would say the component parts of the images are meaningless and at times invisible individually. I would also say they are a perfect example of what you describe. No specific emphasis given to any part of the image so tht the eye wanders about with no reason to explore any part more than another. They are often totally subjectless.
MAS: Paula and I make photographs that often ask a great deal from the viewer. .......... It is just that we ask the viewers to work at "getting" our photographs. We don't want to make it too easy for the viewers--or for ourselves.
TS: Sorry, but this is silly! Is there a secret code? Is there a moment of revelation when one suddenly realises the eyes are getting worn out looking for something to settle on (but failing) and then a light bul illuminates?
I think this is suggesting that many of us who don't get excited about your images are not 'up to it'....cannot/will not work as hard as you are asking us to. This is just daft.
MAS: Each to his own. But yes, people want instant gratification and generally aren't willing to stay with a work of art for more than a few seconds. Just watch people in a gallery or museum--they uaually spend only a few seconds in front of each photograph. Not minutes. And yes, it might take minutes, even many minutes.
Yet again there is the patronising suggestion that I and anyone else who finds your genre of work uninspiring is lacking 'staying power' and seeking instant gratification without the persistence to find what is 'locked within'. I could not care less what other people do in a gallery, but I either spend a very long time there (may well revisit on following day) or is pick a small number of pieces and stay with them all the way.......There are also condescending tones within such comments suggesting that you believe that I (and what seems to be a not insignificant number who agree with me) lack intelligence and the ability to 'operate' on the higher plane you inhabit. I am not going to spout off about how clever I think I am, but I am confident given my background that I am not stupid. I will not elaborate, but if you are questioning my intellectual credentials, all I will say is that they have been well proven elsewhere. I have seen work by artists which I do not particularly 'like', but may perfectly understand and feel the work, but find that is does not resonate in a way which is I find satisfying (and I dont mean 'nice'). However, I find your work does not resonate with me in any meaningful way at all
End of Part 1
Tom Stanworth said:Would you consider spending a year with 6x7 (or Xpan for panoramas) so you cannot make contact prints. This removes both the AZO and the process (and arguably a large dose of purely technical quality). You would still be able to make glowing enlargements of about 10x8 and would still be able to deal with imagery in the manner you describe. However, as the technical element would have changed considerably, it would be interesting to see if you were at all satisfied and if not, why not. You can frame exactly the same image, composed identically, but it may be technically inferior upon detailed examination. However, you would still be able to produce a pretty darned good print. The image itself would be recorded exactly the same. I would suggest a Mamiya 7 which has such astonishing resolution, you would achieve great detail on a 10x8 (having printed a friend's negs and been quite surprised). Although I agree that you do not at this stage constantly consciously deal with technical quality as you are settled into a process and know it better than anyone alive probably. However, if it was not for technical reasons (process included), why did you move to the large negs and AZO? It cannot be for pictorial reasons. If you were to find the resultant prints from 6x7 insufferable, what conclusions would you draw regarding the thread topic of content value vs technical value as a proportion of a print's overall merit (to you)? I suppose what I am asking is would you be able to produce what you would comfortably consider to be 'art'? If not , why not? Many would say that big contact prints (printing component) are not inherently more artistic, but have a finer degree of craft content. This is of course of value, but it is entirely seperate from the artistic component. It adds technical quality and nothing more (which must be wonderful when the image is artistically outstanding but on a big neg)
I would suggest that Ed Weston' Pepper would still retain 95+% of its glory if it had been shot on a modern 6x7 and printed by a master (enlarger) according to weston's vision, rather than contact printed. That 5% extra makes a big difference in the upper echelons of art, which I totally agree with. However, all the same 'appreciation' boxes would be ticked (crudely put) and it would still be rgarded as exceptional for all the same reasons...just not quite as exceptional!
Tom
Tom Stanworth said:Ed,
Why on earth would I want to beat on you? And I am taking a confrontational apporoach? You are entitled to your opinion.
George Losse said:Tom,
I'm not sure your last suggestion/question can truly be answered. If one who regularly shoots 8x10 or ULF spends a year with a medium format camera, they will be different, and they will see differently. Yes it will remove the ability to contact print, and yes it would limit some of the technical things that a lot of LF shooters hold dear. But it also will change the way they see the subjects. I know that the 8x10 for me is not just about wanting to contact print, it about seeing with that equipment the way I want to interrupt the subjects in front of me. Its about working with equipment that compliments the way I see.
.
Ed Sukach said:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Stanworth
Ed,
Why on earth would I want to beat on you? And I am taking a confrontational apporoach? You are entitled to your opinion.
My opinion is, yes, you are taking a confrontational approachMy opinion is, yes, you are taking a confrontational approach.
Tom Stanworth said:Shooting 5x4 extensively, I do not think there is anything I could not do on a smaller format from a capture point of view, having spent some time in LF. I would concede that there are in fact creative opportunities lost. For me, the ultimate height any given image can attain on smaller formats is more limited due to technical ceilings. On smaller formats I dont find I produce better 'creations', but perhaps more of them. However, the quality would be diminished from a smaller neg for a given print size. The content would be the same. At the end of the day, the important bit starts and 99% finished in one's head?
I have heard of such rigidity, but never heard of an actual example. One would have to ask the person if they use technique to enhance a creation or exploit only some creative opportunities to facilitate the execution of a technically uncompromised print. Yikes. If this was some time ago, has his approach changed?
Tom
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