Something Old

I FORGOT TO TURN MY CLOCKS FORWARD!


In the Cotton chapter about documentaries we read for last week’s class, the author discussed a particular photographer who’s documentary projects I really responded to; Zarina Bhimji. I thought the method of photographing “empty” or kind of isolated areas, and then creating a narrative about a particular social theme was a pretty powerful way engage an audience about a particular issue. The more this class peels back the layers of photography as art, the more apparent and rich these narratives become for me. The photos that I took this week were my attempt at creating a narrative though an “empty” or reduced space.

I started with taking photographs in and around my apartment. I think it’s important to start this kind of process by taking pictures of images that are not traditionally viewed as artistic or beautiful. So, the stuff that I photographed were the gross-looking, ignored pieces of my house that most people (myself included) take for granted artistically. The narrative that I was trying to create with this trio of images is concerned with the way things age. Specifically, I wanted to try and confront the way people view or appraise things which are considered “old”, and manipulate that perception by photographing the subjects from a more aesthetically interesting angle.

This exercise ended up with, at least to me, some pretty artistic images (my favorite to date). I feel that I accomplished my goal in reinterpreting age through these subjects, and I don’t think you can tell what these objects are right away just by looking at the pictures. However, the problem with these images lies in the subjective nature of a narrative. With a medium as complicated and personal as photography, it’s super hard to predict how the audience will interpret the images you present. Just because I see a story about age in these photographs doesn’t necessarily mean you will see the same theme. I wonder if professional photographers struggle with this pernicious relationship they have with subjectivity. How does the artist know that their intended message is being received? If their intention is lost, has their perspective and integrity been compromised? Or can they take solace in the fact that a connection (although different then intended) was made with the work?