Gary Miller (gmphotos@earthlink.net)
Thu, 22 Jul 1999 16:55:19 -0700
I agree with Dick. I think that an object can transcend just being an
object to something greater. A wonderful photograph, has some special
quality to it. I don't mean just the composition or the materials or who
created it. I think that in a truly great photograph a bit of the artist's
consciousness resides, his/her energy if you want to take a more Eastern
view. I don't want to become too metaphysical, but I strive to place myself
into each of my images, to give them another dimensional quality that is
somehow a remnant of me, not just visually, but physically somehow. I feel
this greatly when I look at Salgado's work. For me, there is something else
there besides poignant images, beautiful lighting, precise composition.
There is Salgado in there, so even if I made the exact same photo, with the
exact same materials, standing next to him at the exact same time that he
made his exposure, our end products are different somehow. Now everyone
will probably resonate to a different artist/photographer depending on your
personal aesthetic. I think it is just like when you connect with some
people instantly and others never. Look closely at a contact sheet that has
many frames of the same image, only minutely different. One of them,
hopefully, will jump out at you, will have a quality that the others don't
possess, an indescribable quality. It is that 'other quality' that I am
seeking in my work and that I constantly strive for as an artist, and not
always consciously. The world does not need another Weston, or Steichen, or
take your pick, it needs another me or you. Uniqueness is what makes art
special. It is your expression and no one else can ever see it as you did
or express it as you have, and that is a good thing. Enough for the heavy
philosophical endeavors, I promise now to go back to alternative process
talk.
Gary Miller
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 21:40:37